Fighting to Breathe
by sammygirl1963
Summary: Inspired by my drabble A Race to Save Sammy. Sam is severely injured on a hunt for what they thought was a legendary creature and is left fighting for his life. Limp Sam/Angsty Dean
1. Chapter 1

**Fighting to Breathe**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Winchester boys or anything else recognizable in this story. Nope, not making a profit either, just doing this for fun!!

**Author's Note: **I have no medical knowledge so please forgive any glaring errors in medical treatment. This story is also unbeta'ed so all mistakes are mine!

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

"Just hold on Sammy, we're almost there." Dean begged as he drove the Impala towards the hospital looming in the distance. He could hear the air gurgling from what he feared was a sucking chest wound. He kept his hand plastered over the entry wound on Sam's chest knowing how grievous the wound was as he drove at top speed towards the hospital in town. His heart broke at the way Sam was pleading for his help knowing there was nothing he could do to take away Sam's pain and fear.

"De' can't br-breathe, help m-me." Sam pleaded as he struggled to take in air. He felt like he was suffocating and black spots were beginning to dance in front of his eyes. "De, please, I don't wanna die." Sam gasped just before passing out, a pale blue tinge showing around his lips.

"Sammy, don't you do this." Dean begged as he pulled up to the ER entrance applying the brakes forcefully, with the tires loudly squealing. Climbing out of the Impala, he screamed, "I need some help over here." As he rushed around the front of the car and quickly pulled open Sammy's door, bracing himself as his baby brother fell limp into his waiting arms.

Dean didn't take the time to notice if anyone answered his call for help and instead focused his attention solely on getting Sammy out of the car. He secured his arm around the middle of Sam's back and then placed an arm under his legs as he pulled him from the car. Standing up with a grunt, he noticed two EMT's rushing towards him with a gurney for him to place his brother on. Taking a deep breath, he hesitated for just a moment before placing Sam onto the portable bed, afraid of losing his baby brother if he didn't hold on to him tight. He quickly placed his hand over the wound in Sam's chest once again and then they all started jogging towards the hospital entrance pushing the gurney along between them.

Entering through the sliding doors, Dean saw a doctor motioning them towards the nearest treatment room and ran alongside the EMT's as the did as instructed. Upon entering through the room, Dean relinquished his hold on Sam and stood back to watch as a doctor and the two EMT's transferred Sam from the gurney onto the small bed located in the center of the room.

"What are we looking at?" the doctor questioned as he immediately placed an oxygen mask over Sam's mouth and nose and hooked him up to a heart monitor to keep a close eye on his vital signs. It was obvious the young man wasn't getting enough oxygen by the graying tinge of his skin and the bluish color surrounding his mouth.

"If I'm not mistaken, the kid has a pneumothorax from the sounds he was making when we first got to him." Bradley, the burly medical technician informed the doctor as he started cutting off Sammy's shirt so they could have better access to his chest. Pulling the shirt apart, the EMT gasped at the sight that met his eyes.

"Holy shit, what the hell could have done this much damage?" Dr. John Kelly questioned upon seeing the deep hole that was surrounded by frothy pink blood and four deep gashes that crossed his young patient's chest. He didn't take the time to contemplate that thought however knowing that time was of the essence since his patient was indeed suffering from a sucking chest wound. Taking a deep breathe, John shouted out, "Bradley, get me a pressure dressing to put on this wound until I can get this kid into surgery and do a thoracostomy on him."

Cleaning the blood from the surrounding area, John applied the pressure bandage to the wound and then placed the sterile packaging it came in over the bandage to make an airtight seal. He then taped down all sides of the material leaving one small corner unsealed which would allow trapped air to escape, hopefully making it easier for his young patient to breathe. Motioning Danny, the other EMT over to help, they rolled Sam onto his left side to take some of the pressure off of his good lung.

John was in the process of calling to schedule an operating room for the thoracostomy when he heard the heart monitor begin to signal that his patient was in distress. Looking at the monitor, he saw the wavy lines indicating that his young patient was now in ventricular fibrillation. "Damn it, he's going into cardiac arrest." He shouted as Sam's room suddenly became a flurry of activity.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

_**Forty eight hours earlier:**_

"Hey Sammy, you about ready to stop for the night?" Dean questioned as he spotted a sign up ahead for the _Stardust Motel _proclaiming that the weary traveler could receive "_the most heavenly night of rest available on earth" _within is rooms. Receiving no answer, Dean glanced over to see his little brother with his head resting on his right arm as it was propped against the window. From the light of the full moon, he could see that Sammy's eyes were closed and that he was breathing evenly in slumber.

"Guess that answers my question." Dean thought with a smile as he reached over to lightly ruffle Sam's hair. They had been on the road for four days now and it was obviously taking a toll on his baby brother. He hated the fact that they had been forced to sleep in the car for the past few nights since they had been low on funds. Luckily, he had won four hundred dollars earlier in the evening when they stopped for a beer hoping to get in a few games of pool with the locals so they wouldn't have to sleep in the car again.

Pulling into the parking lot of the motel, he stopped the Impala in front of the office where he could keep a watch on it and its' sleeping occupant as he went in to get a room for the night. He handed over the required cash since their last credit card had maxed out a few days ago and the new ones he had applied for with false aliases hadn't arrived yet. Holding the old fashioned keys to the room in his hand, he thanked the elderly motel owner and walked back out to the car. Opening the door, he quietly slid behind the wheel and drove down to room number eleven. Parking the car right in front of their room, he reached over and gently shook his brother's shoulder. "Sammy, time to wake up tiger. I've got us a room and you can finally sleep in a real bed tonight."

"Kay De" Sam replied without truly awaking as he snuggled into the crook of his arm a little further and began to lightly snore.

"Un uh kiddo, I'm not carrying you." Dean informed Sam as he shook him a little harder. "Your gigantor ass is way too big to carry now."

"Dean, wha'?" Sam questioned as he startled awake and rubbed his weary eyes with his fists like he used to do when he was much younger.

"I've got us a room kiddo, Why don't you go on in and I'll get our bags." Dean said as he handed over a key, smiling at how out of it Sammy was. Damn the kid must have been sleeping hard.

"Yeah, okay." Sam replied as he reached over and opened the door. Rising to his feet, he wavered just a little before grasping the door to steady himself.

"Shit Sammy, what's the matter with you?" Dean queried as he rushed around the front of the car and grasped Sam by his elbow.

"Nothing. M'fine, just tired is all." Sam said as he took a stumbling step forward wanting nothing more than to lie down and close his eyes one again.

"Yeah I can see that bro." Dean stated as he led Sam over to the door to their designated room. He kept a steadying hand on Sam as he quickly opened the sturdy motel room door and then led him over to the farthest bed. Turning back the covers, Dean said, "Sit down before you fall down." As he guided Sam down towards the bed into a sitting position.

Making sure that Sam wasn't going to topple over, he said, "I'm going to go out and get our things. Why don't you get yourself ready for bed." Seeing Sam nod that he would, Dean went outside to get their duffle bags from the trunk as well as Sam's laptop. He knew his brother would want it to surf the net in the morning.

Returning to the room and locking the door for the night, Dean turned around and snorted at the sight of Sam flopped over on the bed, eyes closed and still wearing his jacket and shoes. Fearing that Sam was getting sick, he palmed his forehead to find it relatively cool. Breathing a sigh of relief, he bent down to untie Sam's shoes and pulled them off followed by his socks. Next, he pulled Sam up into a sitting position and tugged off the jacket he was wearing as his brother mumbled something unintelligible. Laying Sam down with his head resting on the pillow, Dean swung his brother's legs up onto the bed and then reached over to unsnap his blue jeans and pull down the zipper. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had to undress you?" Dean said quietly knowing that Sam wouldn't hear him. He quickly pulled off Sam's jeans knowing he wouldn't sleep comfortably in them and then tugged the blanket up over his lightly snoring baby brother. Sam would probably be embarrassed at having been undressed like a toddler in the morning, but at least he would get a good night's rest.

"Night kiddo." Dean said as he sat on the edge of the bed and carded his fingers through Sam's hair remembering all the times he had had to put a sleeping Sammy to bed when they were younger. He watched Sam for just a few minutes, noticing how he still looked like an innocent child in sleep and then got up to salt the door and windows. Checking on Sammy once more, he pulled a clean t-shirt and boxers out of his duffle bag and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower. He didn't like the idea of leaving Sam unprotected for too long.

Climbing out of the shower and drying off, Dean dressed in his night clothes and brushed his teeth before checking the salt lines once again. Climbing into his own bed, he turned on the television and turned down the sound before scanning the channels. Finding nothing to catch his interest, he was about to turn off the television when a breaking news report flashed across the screen. Turning up the sound just enough for him to hear, he listened intently as the reporter talked about the grisly discovery of three bodies found earlier in the woods outside of Bantonsville, Missouri. Listening to eye witness reports about an unusual looking creature, Dean wondered if they had just found their next hunt. Deciding to check things out in the morning, he turned off the television and then rolled onto his side to check on Sammy once more before fading off to sleep himself.

**TBC **_**Should I continue or just delete this one?**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 2**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Winchester boys or anything else recognizable in this story. Nope, not making a profit either, just doing this for fun!!

**Author's Note: **Wikipedia provided the information needed for the creature the boys will be hunting.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously**_**: **__Listening to eye witness reports about an unusual looking creature, Dean wondered if they had just found their next hunt. Deciding to check things out in the morning, he turned off the television and then rolled onto his side to check on Sammy once more before fading off to sleep himself._

Sam awoke early the next morning to find himself lying in a comfortable bed and wondering how he got there. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in the Impala to the sounds of AC/DC playing on the radio. Scrubbing a hand through his disheveled hair, he sat up and looked over to see Dean still firmly entrenched in sleep. Knowing it was the perfect time for him to get a shower, Sam threw the blankets off his legs and his cheeks instantly tinged a bright pink at seeing his state of undress. _"Damn, how could I have been so tired that I didn't even notice Dean pulling off my jeans ?" _He wondered as he climbed out of the bed and started searching through his duffle bag for some clean clothing. Finding the cleanest pair of dirty jeans he had, he carried them with him into the bathroom to take a shower. One thing was for sure, he would have to talk to Dean about making a laundry run in the near future.

Stripping off his boxers and sleep shirt, Sam stepped under the hot water that was streaming down from the showerhead. Placing his hands on the wall in support, he stood under the pulsating water for just a few minutes as he relished the feeling of the water hitting his aching muscles. He didn't realize just how sore sleeping in the car for a few nights had made him feel. Once he was fully relaxed, Sam lathered up his sinewy body and scrubbed himself until he felt immaculately clean from head to toe.

Turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, Sam toweled himself off and followed his usual morning routine of brushing his teeth, combing his hair and gargling before getting dressed. Walking back into the room, he found Dean still sleeping and decided to get them some breakfast, that is if there was someplace close for him to get it. Leaving Dean a note in case he woke up, Sam pulled on his shoes and grabbed his jacket and walked quietly out the door. Seeing an IHOP just down the road, he smiled and started walking towards it. Ordering a platter of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon to go for him and Dean, along with a couple of cups of coffee, Sam paid for his order and sat down to wait.

Returning to the room approximately thirty minutes later with their breakfast in hand, Sam opened the door to find Dean just waking up. "Morning bro." Sam grinned as he walked into the room and placed the food on the small table near the window.

"Morning" Dean mumbled as he yawned and stretched. "Smells good, what's in the bag?" He queried, once the mouth watering smell coming from the bag wafted over to his nose.

"Got all your favorites for breakfast." Sam answered as he started pulling their platters from the bag.

"Well I deserve it for having to undress your sasquatch ass last night and getting you ready for bed." Dean smirked causing Sam's cheeks to tinge in embarrassment once again.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that dude." Sam apologized as he hung his head.

"No need to apologize or be embarrassed kiddo, it isn't like I haven't done it a hundred times before." Dean retorted as he walked over to the small table dressed in only his boxers and a gray t-shirt. Placing one of the platters in front of himself, he quickly popped the top open and forked some of the eggs. "Damn, I'm starving." He said as he savored the taste of fresh scrambled eggs.

"When aren't you starving Dean?" Sam questioned with a twinkle in his eye as he pulled the lid off of his own breakfast platter and began to eat. If there was one thing Dean loved almost as much as he loved his car, it was eating.

"Dude, eating is an art form." Dean replied with a grin as he dug into his breakfast with gusto. As he ate, Dean discreetly gave Sam the once over to make sure his baby brother was in good health and that last night was just a case of extreme exhaustion and not the beginning of Sammy getting sick. Satisfied that Sam was okay, Dean decided he would talk to Sam later about checking out what he had seen on the news report from the previous night.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

"Hey Dean, can we make a trip to the Laundromat?" Sam questioned as he finished off the last of his breakfast. "If we don't get some clothes washed soon, we're both going to be running around in the bare."

"I kind of think the ladies might like that myself, well with my body anyway." Dean said with a wink as he stood up to go take a quick shower. He jumped to the side to avoid the crumpled plastic coffee cup that Sam threw at him for the remark.

"Dude, you're incorrigible." Sam shouted just as the door closed shaking his head in wonderment. Only Dean would take pride in running around bare assed naked for the whole world to see.

Once Dean climbed out of the shower, the brothers gathered together all their dirty clothing and drove down town to the local Laundromat. Putting the quarters in a vending machine to buy some washing detergent, Sam loaded one of the washers with his and Dean's jeans while he used another to wash their shirts, socks, and boxers. He didn't trust Dean to wash his clothing anymore since his brother had come back about a month ago and most of his boxers had somehow turned a bright pink.

As they took a seat while waiting for the washing machine to stop, Dean decided it was the perfect time to bring up what he had seen on the news. Clearing his throat to gain Sam's attention, Dean said, "Hey Sam, I think I might have found us another hunt accidentally while you were pulling your sleeping beauty routine last night."

"What are you talking about Dean, what hunt?" Sam asked perplexed knowing that Dean wouldn't have left him alone last night to go out and find a hunt when he was so out of it at the time.

"Last night while you were sleeping, I was flipping through the channels on the TV when a breaking news flash came on about some hikers who were killed out in the woods near Bantonsville, Missouri. According to an eye witness, the hikers were killed by a weird looking creature unlike anything they had ever seen before. Sounds like this could be right up our alley Sammy. What do you say we check it out?" Dean answered.

"Guess it wouldn't hurt." Sam replied as the washing machines finished and he transferred their clothing to the dryers.

"Cool, we'll go in as Park Rangers checking out the suspicious death's. It will give us a chance to use those new I.D.'s Bobby gave me the last time we were there." Dean replied as he slapped his hand down on Sam's knee excited about the possibility of an upcoming hunt.

"Jeez Dean, you're like a kid in a candy store when it comes to posing as a federal agent." Sam stated with a laugh.

"Hey, can I help it if I like pulling one over on the feds with all the grief they've given us over the past few years." Dean said with a nonchalant attitude. "At least it will get us the information we need to decide if this is something we want to undertake."

"Yeah I guess, let me see what I can find on the computer first and then we'll take a drive out to Bantonsville and talk to the witness." Sam said as he and Dean started folding their now clean clothing before stuffing it into their duffle bags.

Arriving back at the motel room thirty minutes later, Sam booted up his laptop and googled the town of Bantonsville. Clicking on _The Bantonsville Gazzette _sight, Sam found an article in the online newspaper that gave him some of the information they needed. "Okay, turns out the hikers that were killed were two men. One was a thirty five year old man named John Jacobs. According to his family, he was an avid hiker who loved the outdoors and went hiking nearly every weekend with the other man who was killed, namely Tom Witherston, also an avid hiker and John's best friend. It appears that Tom's body was found a few yards from John's." Sam informed his brother as his eyes scanned the article. He went on to say, "The police say that Mr. Jacobs was killed by a penetrating stab wound that pierced the lower left portion of his heart. He also had some claw wound that covered a good portion of his stomach and his back. The other man was also killed in much the same way."

"What does the article say the eye witness claimed to see?" Dean asked a little impatiently.

"If you'll wait just a damn minute, I'm getting to that." Sam stated as his eyes continued to scan the article in search of the pertinent information. "Okay, here it is, the article says that Melvin Dartmouth told police that he saw what looked like a large yellow rabbit with a black two foot long spiraling horn coming out of it's head. He said the beast literally jumped on the first hiker and started clawing him as it stabbed him with it's horn, that's when he took off to call for help."

"You're shitting me right dude, I mean come on, a killer rabbit?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Dean you know as well as I do that anything can happen out there with the things we hunt." Sam said as he googled the description to see if anything would come up. Scanning through the links, he clicked on one that he thought was reputable and sucked in a quick breath. "Well I'll be, would you take a look at that." He said as he spun the computer around for Dean to see.

"I see it, but I don't believe it." Dean said as he looked at the picture of the exact animal that the witness had described seeing. "What the hell is that thing?"

"It is called an al-mi'raj" Sam answered as he looked up from the internet page. According to legend, the al-mi'raj might look like a docile creature that would cause no harm when in actuality, it is a ferociously territorial predator known to be able to kill animals and people many times their own size with a few stabs of its horn. It also said to have an immense appetite and can devour other living things several times its size without effort."

"Well looks like it's time for us to pull an Elmer Fudd and go kill us a rascally rabbit." Dean stated trying to mimic the popular cartoon character.

Sam rolled his eyes at the smirk that adorned his brother's face. For a twenty seven year old man, Dean could sure act like a child with the best of them sometimes, and honestly, he wouldn't have his brother any other way. Standing up to grab their jackets, the boys gathered their things together and walked out the door, determined to catch themselves a killer rabbit.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

Fighting to Breathe Ch. 3

Disclaimer**: I do not own the Winchester boys or anything else recognizable in this story. Nope, not making a profit either, just doing this for fun!!**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_Standing up to grab their jackets, the boys gathered their things together and walked out the door, determined to catch themselves a killer rabbit._

Two hours later found the Winchesters changing out of their Park Ranger uniforms after having talked to the witness. The only information they had been able to gleam off the man that they didn't already know was the fact that the men who were killed had been hiking along a trail known as Dead Man's Trail because of it's sheer drop off in places. As he slipped off his uniform pants and pulled on his jeans, Dean looked at his little brother and said, "Ya know, you'd think with a name like Dean Man's Trail, those men would have picked another place to go hiking."

"Yeah, it did seem kind of prophetic for them to use that trail" Sam replied with a sense of foreboding as he pulled on his own jeans contemplating the information going through his mind and wondering if he should tell Dean about his feeling of unease, ultimately deciding not to. "Of course you know we're going to be hiking that same trail ourselves Dean while looking for the al-mi'raj."

"Yeah, but nothing's gonna happen to us kiddo. We know what we're going up against and we'll be prepared to face down the damn thing." Dean replied knowing how Sam had a tendency to worry about things. He could see the worry lines already forming even if Sam was trying to hide how he felt.

"Hope you're right." Sam mumbled under his breath as he tossed his uniform into the hidden compartment in the trunk before taking the gun and backpack offered to him by Dean which held their supplies.

"I'm always right Samantha, you ought to know that by now." Dean grinned as he grabbed the ammunition and their sleeping bags before closing the trunk. Taking the lead, Dean set a brisk pace as they started hiking along the trail themselves. He hoped to find and killed the damned rabbit before they were forced to sleep out in the woods. If there was one thing he hated with a passion, it was camping. They had been hiking for nearly an hour when Dean turned around to look at Sam and put his fingers to his lips warning him to be quiet.

"What is it, what did you see?" Whispered Sam anxiously as he glanced around trying to figure out what Dean saw or possibly heard.

"Shhh, be vewy, vewy, quiet. We're hunting wabbits." Dean stated in his best Elmer Fudd voice once again before bursting out laughing at the incredulous look on Sammy's face.

"Damn it Dean, I thought you saw something." Sam seethed as he reached out and thumped Dean on the back of the head with his hand. "Stop acting like a kid and take this hunt seriously."

"Aw come one Sammy, loosen up a little bit bro." Dean said as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "You know it was funny, admit it."

Sam couldn't help but laugh a little at his big brother's shenanigans. Even in serious situations, Dean could always find something to poke fun at and loosen the tension, even if it was inappropriate at times.

"That's my boy." Stated Dean as he nudged Sam with his shoulder before choosing that moment to sit down on a huge rock to take a breather for a few minutes. He watched as Sam dropped his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water before sitting down himself.

Taking a big swig of the water, Sam wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and then handed it over to Dean. "So what do you think it will take to kill this thing?" Sam questioned as he searched the surrounding are looking for anything out of the ordinary. Since the creature was only thought to be legendary, he couldn't find any information on the type of ammunition that would kill tit."

"I'm thinking maybe a silver tipped hollow point or a consecrated iron bullet." Dean stated knowing that silver or iron usually worked on most supernatural animals. "Whatever it takes, that thing is going down." Getting to his feet once again, he reached over and gave Sam a hand up and they started making their way down the trail once again.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Later that evening, Sam and Dean cleared a spot close to a river where they could spend the night. They had been hiking the trail for the better part of the day and the only things they had come up on was a few deer, a wild turkey, and one ugly looking skunk that they gave a wide berth to. Neither wanted to experience being sprayed by the loathsome creature knowing that smell would stay on them for days. Setting up camp near a clump of trees and a fallen log situated near a stream, Dean could hear the sound of thunder rumbling off into the distance and looked up to see dark gray clouds above. "Damn, as if it isn't already bad enough to have to spend the night outdoors, now it looks like it's going to rain." Dean groaned aloud. They hadn't brought their two man pup tent along with them not wanting too carry any excess weight since they thought the hunt would have been over relatively quick.

"Well what did you expect Dean, it's all a part of Winchester luck." Sam informed his brother as he carried the water bottles over to the stream to refill them.

"Well lucky for you little brother, Dad taught me how to make a lean-to that time I went with him on a hunt and we left you with Pastor Jim because you had the flu." Dean stated as he began to look around for some sticks or branches long enough to build the small shelter. At least he would be able to keep them dry and out of the rain. Gathering up what he thought would be enough branches, he began to build the small shelter as he watched Sammy stacking small pieces of wood for a campfire.

Placing the long sticks he had gathered against the fallen tree, he quickly ran a rope through the tops and the bottoms of the branches to hold them still and together. Once he made sure that it was big enough that he and Sammy could both fit under it, he began to gather forest debris such as moss, leaves, pine needles and dried ferns to pile on top of the contraption to keep out the rain. Satisfied that the shelter would keep them relatively dry, Dean walked over to see Sam heating a can of pork and beans and a pot of coffee over the campfire.

"Yummy, beans" Dean groaned sarcastically as he looked toward the food cooking in a small aluminum pot. He hated beans with a passion.

"Sorry Dean, it's all we had." Replied Sam as he scooped some of the hot beans out onto a plate for himself and his brother.

"Yeah, well I'm telling ya right now dude if those things make you gassy, you better find a place in the woods to release it because if you stink me out of the lean-to, I am so kicking your ass." Dean told his little brother.

"Me gassy." Sam stated with utter disbelief. "Dude, you're the one who lets out the most rotten smelling farts after eating beans, not me." Sam said with a shiver remembering times being locked up in the car with Dean after having eaten beans when they were younger. The smell could get so noxious at times that it would actually leave him nauseous.

"You're just jealous that you weren't able to stink me out nearly as many times as I did you little brother." Dean replied just before bursting into laughter remembering a time when his dad had threatened to make him and Sammy walk if one of them so much as left another malodorous stinker in the Impala. Speaking through his giggles, Dean asked, "Hey Sammy, you remember that time that Bobby cooked us some chili just before leaving his place to go on the hunt for that selkie?"

"Damn, how could I ever forget." Sam replied as he himself burst into a fit of laughter. "When dad heard the fizzling sound of that first one you let go, I thought his eyes were going to bulge out of his head with the way he glared at you."

"Hey, mine was only the introduction if you recall Sammy. When your stomach stated rumbling, I knew we were really in for it, and you didn't disappoint. I thought that fart you left was never going to end. And then when the smell hit, holy shit, I don't think I've ever seen dad go so green at the gills so fast." Dean stuttered out through laughter, the tears pouring from his eyes since he was laughing so hard.

"Yeah, dad had his window down faster than you could say the word poltergeist." Sam laughed picturing that time in his mind. "But the coup de grace was when you left another one yourself. Dude, you actually lifted your right butt cheek and leg up and aimed it towards dad."

"Yeah I did, didn't I!" Dean replied with a wicked looking smirk. I can still hear dad's voice just as plain as day after that one. _"Damn it, that's about enough of that. If you two boys think I am going to ride for the next hundred miles having to smell that rancid odor coming from your gassy behinds then you have another thought coming. One more stinking fart from either one of you and I will pull this car over and make you walk to the nearest town. Do you understand me?" _Dean mimicked with his best John like voice.

"Damn, I was seriously scared of letting another one go after that, It was so close to dark then and I really believed dad would make us walk." Sam admitted as he ate the last of his beans.

"I know what you mean, thank goodness we never had to find out." Dean replied with a smile as he finished his own plate of beans. Carrying their plates and other things down to the stream, they washed them clean to keep from tempting any of the forest animals to raid their camp while they were sleeping. Feeling the first of the raindrops falling, they quickly made their way back to the lean-to. Dean poured a line of salt around the edge of the shelter for protection and then both brothers quickly snuggled into their sleeping bags, ready for sleep. Sam was just on the edge of falling asleep when he heard a fizzling like sound coming from Dean's area.

"Dean, you didn't!" he stated with vehemence just as the smell came wafting over towards his nose.

"Sorry Sammy, I couldn't help it, the gas pains were hurting my stomach." Dean snickered as he waved a hand in front of his own nose to shoo away the odiferous smell.

"And you threatened to kick my ass if I did it." Sam retorted as he rolled to the side of the lean-to to get some fresh air.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'll try to keep it from happening again." Dean apologized with a smile on his face. He knew damn well that if those pains hit again that there was more room on the outside of him than inside. He faded off to sleep with a smile on his face, hoping that they would be able to finish the hunt tomorrow and get back to civilization.

**TBC Hope you enjoyed this little comedic chapter before the angst hits in spades with the next one as the boys face the killer rabbit.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 4**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Winchester boys or anything else recognizable in this story. Nope, not making a profit either, just doing this for fun!!

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_Dean faded off to sleep with a smile on his face, hoping that they would be able to finish the hunt tomorrow and get back to civilization._

Early the next morning, Dean awoke to the sounds of Sam's soft snores as the birds sang out their morning song in accompaniment. Rolling out from under the lean-to with a big yawn, he sat up and stretched, happy to see the sun shining above. Running his hands through his sleep mussed hair, he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the coffee pot. Pouring out the cold brew left from the previous night, he walked down to the lake and washed the coffee pot out before refilling it with water to make a fresh pot of coffee.

Once the coffee was finished, he poured himself a cup and carried it over by the river where he sat down on a log and watched the two fawns playing on the other side. The small deer seemed to be playing a game as they nuzzled at each other, unaware of their audience. Dean was so caught up in watching the small animals that he jumped in surprise as his brother reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Shit Sammy, next time announce yourself would ya." Dean exclaimed as a little of the hot coffee splashed on his hands as it sloshed around in the cup.

"Sorry dude, didn't mean to scare ya." Sam smirked as he sat down beside his big brother with his own cup of the steaming hot brew.

"Who said I was scared, you just surprised me is all." Dean retorted as if it were the obvious truth.

"Whatever you say Dean, what had you so engrossed anyway that you didn't realize that I was walking up on you? You're usually a hell of a lot more observant than that." Sam questioned.

"Those two little fawns." Dean answered as he pointed across the river. "The two of them have been playing for a few minutes now. Kind of puts me in the mind of me and you when we were little with the way they keep nudging at each other. See that one right there?" Dean queried as he pointed to the one now nibbling on some leaves by the river bank. "It must be the baby brother."

"And just what makes you think that?" Sam questioned disbelievingly as he watched the little deer who seemed unaware of their presence.

"Just watch, you'll see." Within seconds, Sam watched as the other fawn walked over and herded the smaller one away from the river when it got too close for the other one's liking.

"Well I'll be..." Sam stated with surprise at witnessing the event with his own eyes.

Just content to sit and enjoy the moment, neither brother spoke as they watched the two little deer at play until the wind changed and the woodland creatures caught their scent causing them to scurry away.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Finishing up with their coffee, Dean and Sam loaded up their gear once again and set off on the hunt for the al-mi'raj. They knew they needed to find and kill the thing before it could take out anymore unsuspecting hikers. Taking the lead, Dean started scanning the area up ahead for anything that was disturbed or looked out of place.

A few miles up the trail, Dean raised his hand as a silent signal for Sam to stop. He had heard the sound of something rustling through the weeds up ahead and knew they needed to take a more stealthy approach. Taking a few cautious steps forward, Dean raised his gun as the weeds began to move about again causing his anxiety level to rise.

Tightening his finger on the trigger, he watched as a red fox came scurrying out of the woods and ran down the path ahead of them. "Son of a …" he said as he relaxed his finger immediately to keep from killing the harmless animal. "That critter doesn't know how close it came to having it's head blown off just then." Dean voiced as he turned around to see Sammy relaxing his firing stance also.

"Guess today was it's lucky day, I wonder what had it so skitt…oh shit" Sam declared as he reached out to push Dean out of the way in an automatic reaction as he watched the biggest rabbit he had ever seen in his life making a leap towards his brother's back. He didn't have time to move out of the way himself as the creature landed on him instead and latched it's paws around him digging in with it's claws. He grunted in pain as he felt the claws ripping into his chest just before the agony of a white hot pain encompassed his entire being as he felt the al-mi'raj's horn spear him in the chest.

Dean knew immediately that the killer rabbit was behind him as he saw his brother's eyes go huge just before he cursed and then pushed him out of the way. He felt the terror spike in his own being knowing that Sam had most likely sacrificed himself to keep him from being hurt. Rolling with the shove, he screamed, "Sammy, Noooooo." as he came to rest on his knees, his gun aimed to make a killing blow, only to keep from making the shot. The rabbit was latched onto Sammy and the bullet would most likely take his brother out too.

Sam screamed out in mortal pain as he felt the horn sink deep into his chest. He felt his knees begin to buckle as the pain consumed him and black spots began to dance on the edge of his vision. Dropping to his knees, he called out "De'n." Just as his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the ground.

Dean watched in terror as a myriad of emotions crossed Sammy's face in split seconds. He could see the disbelief of what had just happened in his eyes, before the pain took over and then an overwhelming look of sadness. He knew his brother well enough to know that he was apologizing with his eyes, thinking he was dying just before he passed out. Kicking out with his foot, Dean caught the rabbit with the side of his boot and dislodged it from his brother as the thing landed on all four legs before turning around to make its next attack.

Raising his pistol, he fired the silver tipped hollow point and watched in astonishment as it entered the rabbits shoulder only for the damn thing to keep coming towards him unfazed. "Damn it!" Dean swore forcefully as he pulled the trigger again knowing this time the rabbit would be hit with a bullet made of consecrated iron and dipped in hemlock since the clip was filled with a variety of rounds that he had loaded himself. This time, he watched in satisfaction as the bullet caught the al-mi'raj dead center in the chest. The animal gave an unearthly howl as steam bubbled forth from the wound. He watched the killer rabbit begin to convulse and then slump to the ground, twitching in it's death throes.

Running to his brother, Dean ripped open his unconscious brother's shirt to see just how badly he was wounded. His face paled a deathly shade of white upon seeing the blood that was bubbling a frothy pink from the wound knowing that it was a grievous wound. He had to get Sammy to the hospital and quick. Placing a hand under Sammy's back and knees, he was just about to lift him up when he heard his brother groaning.

"Sammy, you with me dude?" Dean questioned as he pulled out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and placed it over the hole in Sam's chest. Hearing nothing but another moan, Dean prodded Sammy again. "Come on Sam, open your eyes for me little brother, let me know you're in there."

"De'n?" Sam questioned with a gasp as he opened glassy, unfocused eyes.

"Yeah, it's me kiddo, you've been hurt pretty bad. We need to get you out of here and to a hospital." Dean informed his brother as he wrapped an arm around Sam's back and helped him into a sitting position. It tore his heart out to hear Sam cry out in pain as he clutched his chest from the movement. "Sorry champ, but we need to get you to a standing position. I need for you to keep pressure on this wound while I get you up." Dean said as he placed Sam's right hand over the handkerchief knowing time was of the essence in getting Sam to medical help. The rabbit's horn had obviously punctured one of Sam's lungs causing a sucking chest wound. Sam could literally suffocate if he didn't get to medical help in time.

Pulling Sam to his feet, Dean wrapped an arm around his back as he used the other one to pull Sam's arm around his neck. "Sammy listen to me, this is important, you need to keep pressure on that wound until I can get you to the car. Do you hear me tiger?"

"Ye-yeah" Panted Sam wondering why in the hell it seemed so hard to catch his breath. "Hu-hurts De." Sam whispered as he held his hand to his chest applying as much pressure as his weak body would allow him.

"I know it does kiddo, but I promise, you're gonna be alright. We just have to get you to the car where you can relax." Dean encouraged knowing it had to feel like torture for Sammy to be in the condition he was in.

"De, too ti-tired, ca-cant ma-make it, hurts too b-bad." Sam said as his knees buckled. He would have hit the ground if it hadn't been for the strong grip Dean had on his brother to keep him from falling.

"Yes you can Sammy, It's just a little bit further." Dean coaxed trying to keep Sam moving. "I know it hurts buddy, but try to focus on something else other than the pain."

"Li-like what-t?" Sam asked as his head drooped to his chest, he really wanted to sink into oblivion right now.

Thinking fast, Dean said, "How about those two little fawns. What do you think they're doing right now. I bet there out there romping in the woods and congratulating themselves for making their great escape away from us."

"Looked like Ba-Bambi." Sam said as he thought about the two woodland creatures with their brown fur and white spots. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen something so beautiful in nature.

"Bambi? Dude, when did you start watching Disney movies?" Dean questioned as he pulled Sam along. He knew Sam's strength was giving out on him by the way he was barely walking and allowing himself to be dragged along.

"Je-Jess loved the mo-movie, ma-made me watch it-it with h-her." Sam stuttered as his head bobbed on his shoulders. "S'good mo-movie, you should wa-watch it."

"I'll make you a deal Sammy. You stay with me and keep fighting and when you get out of the hospital, we'll rent it and watch it together, what do you say dude?" Dean asked with a shaky voice knowing how much the memory must have caused Sam's heart to ache.

"Kay, it's a de-deal" Sam replied as his legs gave out on him completely and he slumped towards the ground.

"Shit" Dean gasped as he tightened his hold around Sammy's back before releasing Sam's arm to wrap the other hand under his knees. Hoisting Sam up, he carried him the rest of the way to the car which hadn't been too far away and placed him into the passenger seat. He secured his brother before shutting the door and sliding across the hood to the driver's side. He quickly fired up the engine and put the muscle car in gear, setting a course for the nearest hospital.

**TBC PS--don't own Bambi either LOL!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 5**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Winchester boys or anything else recognizable in this story. Nope, not making a profit either, just doing this for fun!!

**Author's Note: **We've made it back to present time so you will recognize the first part of this chapter. SORRY FOR THE DELAY in getting this chapter out. Also, I have no medical knowledge so please forgive any erorrs in treatment.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Shit" Dean gasped as he tightened his hold around Sammy's back before releasing Sam's arm to wrap the other hand under his knees as his legs gave out. Hoisting Sam up, he carried him the rest of the way to the car which hadn't been too far away and placed him into the passenger seat. He secured his brother before shutting the door and sliding across the hood to the driver's side. He quickly fired up the engine and put the muscle car in gear, setting a course for the nearest hospital._

"Just hold on Sammy, we're almost there." Dean begged as he drove the Impala towards the hospital looming in the distance. He could hear the air gurgling from what he feared was a sucking chest wound. He kept his hand plastered over the entry wound on Sam's chest knowing how grievous the wound was as he drove at top speed towards the hospital in town. His heart broke at the way Sam was pleading for his help knowing there was nothing he could do to take away Sam's pain and fear.

"De' can't br-breathe, help m-me." Sam pleaded as he struggled to take in air. He felt like he was suffocating and black spots were beginning to dance in front of his eyes. "De, please, I don't wanna die." Sam gasped just before passing out, a pale blue tinge showing around his lips.

"Sammy, don't you do this." Dean begged as he pulled up to the ER entrance applying the brakes forcefully, with the tires loudly squealing. Climbing out of the Impala, he screamed, "I need some help over here." As he rushed around the front of the car and quickly pulled open Sammy's door, bracing himself as his baby brother fell limp into his waiting arms.

Dean didn't take the time to notice if anyone answered his call for help and instead focused his attention solely on getting Sammy out of the car. He secured his arm around the middle of Sam's back and then placed an arm under his legs as he pulled him from the car. Standing up with a grunt, he noticed two EMT's rushing towards him with a gurney for him to place his brother on. Taking a deep breath, he hesitated for just a moment before placing Sam onto the portable bed, afraid of losing his baby brother if he didn't hold on to him tight. He quickly placed his hand over the wound in Sam's chest once again and then they all started jogging towards the hospital entrance pushing the gurney along between them.

Entering through the sliding doors, Dean saw a doctor motioning them towards the nearest treatment room and ran alongside the EMT's as the did as instructed. Upon entering through the room, Dean relinquished his hold on Sam and stood back to watch as a doctor and the two EMT's transferred Sam from the gurney onto the small bed located in the center of the room.

"What are we looking at?" the doctor questioned as he immediately placed an oxygen mask over Sam's mouth and nose and hooked him up to a heart monitor to keep a close eye on his vital signs. It was obvious the young man wasn't getting enough oxygen by the graying tinge of his skin and the bluish color surrounding his mouth.

"If I'm not mistaken, the kid has a pneumothorax from the sounds he was making when we first got to him." Bradley, the burly medical technician informed the doctor as he started cutting off Sammy's shirt so they could have better access to his chest. Pulling the shirt apart, the EMT gasped at the sight that met his eyes.

"Holy shit, what the hell could have done this much damage?" Dr. John Kelly questioned upon seeing the deep hole that was surrounded by frothy pink blood and four deep gashes that crossed his young patient's chest. He didn't take the time to contemplate that thought however knowing that time was of the essence since his patient was indeed suffering from a sucking chest wound. Taking a deep breathe, John shouted out, "Bradley, get me a pressure dressing to put on this wound until I can get this kid into surgery and do a thoracostomy on him."

Cleaning the blood from the surrounding area, John applied the pressure bandage to the wound and then placed the sterile packaging it came in over the bandage to make an airtight seal. He then taped down all sides of the material leaving one small corner unsealed which would allow trapped air to escape, hopefully making it easier for his young patient to breathe. Motioning Danny, the other EMT over to help, they rolled Sam onto his left side to take some of the pressure off of his good lung.

John was in the process of calling to schedule an operating room for the thoracostomy when he heard the heart monitor begin to signal that his patient was in distress. Looking at the monitor, he saw the wavy lines indicating that his young patient was now in ventricular fibrillation. "Damn it, he's going into cardiac arrest." He shouted as Sam's room suddenly became a flurry of activity. Launching into CPR, John called out for someone to get him a crash cart knowing he would have to shock his patient's heart back into rhythm.

"Sammy, please don't leave me." Dean pleaded as he watched the medical personnel working frenetically to save his brother. Not wanting to be kicked out of the room while Sammy was in a desperate battle for his life, he backed out of the way when two nurses entered the room pushing a portable defibrillator on a table between them. Sucking in a breath, he watched as the one of the nurses charged the machine while the other placed some kind of gel onto the paddles before handing them over to the doctor. He watched as the doctor grasped the paddles and placed one on the upper right quadrant of Sam's chest and the other on the left side . He heard the doctor holler "Clear!" before depressing the paddles. He jumped himself as he watched his brother's back arch up off the bed due to the current that shot through his body.

"No conversion, set it again" Dr. Kelly called out as he placed the paddles once again. Waiting for the machine to signify it was charged, Dr. John Kelly called "Clear!" and depressed the paddles again, This time, he breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the monitor signify that his patient's heart was now back into a normal sinus rhythm.

"We've got him back." He sighed in relief. "Bradley, get me an endotracheal tube. I want this kid on a ventilator to take the pressure off of his lungs to breathe until I can get in there and repair the pneumothorax." John stated as he set about trying to keep his patient stable so that he could get him into surgery.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Once Sam had been taken to the Operating Room and anesthetized, Dr. Kelly cleaned the sight for the tube placement with iodine and then placed some sterile drapes around the area. He then made a small incision in the skin and cut a small passageway through the muscle into the chest where he threaded the thoracostomy tube through and then sutured it to the skin to keep it from falling out. Applying a dressing to the area, he quickly asked for a chest radiograph to be taken to check the location of the tube. Once the placement was confirmed, Sam was moved to the Intensive Care Unit where the nurses would keep a close eye on the tube to make sure it didn't clog, possibly causing death.

Making his way to the surgical waiting area, Dr, Kelly found Dean impatiently pacing a pathway across the floor. Walking up to the agitated brother, he smiled and said, "Your brother came through the surgery just fine. The tube placement went in without a hitch and Sam has been moved to the ICU recovery unit. With a little time, he should make a full recovery"

Emitting a sigh of relief, Dean reached out his hand to shake John's and said, "Thanks doc, he's all I have left and I don't know what I would have done if I had lost him."

"You're welcome, glad I could help."

"Hey doc, when can I see Sammy?" Dean questioned needing to be at his brother's side.

"They should have settled in about fifteen minutes. You're welcome to go see him then. He will be in room five of the ICU." Dr. Kelly answered in response to Dean's question. "You should know that Sam will still be on a ventilator and that he will have a tube sticking out of his side, just below the chest area. The tube will allow the trapped air to escape and will have to remain in place until the pleural space of Sam's lungs is clear." The doctor then asked if Dean had any questions before taking his leave.

After talking with the doctor, Dean made his way towards the Intensive Care Unit so that he would be there the minute they had Sammy settled. He didn't want to wait any longer than was absolutely necessary to see Sammy. Walking up to the call button just outside of the doors, he pushed the button to inform them he was there and then sat down to wait, hating the fact that the room seemed suffocating with so many others waiting on critically ill family members. As he waited, Dean impatiently glanced through a Car and Driver magazine wondering how long he would be stuck waiting in the uncomfortable chair that he found himself sitting in. He only had to wait approximately five minutes when he heard a soft female voice call out, "Family of Sam Michaels?"

Standing up and walking towards the nurse, Dean introduced himself. "I'm his brother Dean."

"Please follow me sir." The nurse said as she turned on her heels and led him out of the crowded waiting room. Keying in the code to open the ICU door, the nurse held it open for Dean to walk through. Knowing that some people were overwhelmed when they saw their loved ones hooked up to life saving equipment, Nurse Grove decided to prepare Dean for what he was about to see. "Dean, you're brother is resting peacefully right now, so I want to inform you about what you're going to see upon entering his room so you're not overwhelmed. Right now Sam is on a ventilator which means there is a tube threaded down his throat that is hooked up to a machine which is doing the breathing for him. This is to take the pressure off of his lungs so that they can heal and start moving the oxygen on their own once again. He also has a tube coming out of his chest that leads to a small device where the trapped air is released into water which keeps the air from flowing back in."

Allowing Dean the time to process the information, she went on to say, "Sam also has an IV port in his hand which is giving him the antibiotics and medication he needs to deal with the trauma his body is going through and he is hooked up to a monitor which helps us to keep track of his heart rate, blood pressure and pulse. Lastly, we have inserted a Foley catheter which will help Sam to relieve his bladder until he is able to go to the bathroom on his own."

Stopping at the entrance to Sam's room, the nurse smiled at Dean and said, "If you have any questions or need anything Dean, there is a small call button near the head of Sam's bed. Just press the button and one of us will be with you shortly."

"Thanks." Dean said with a tight smile as he entered the slightly darkened room to see his brother lying on the bed looking almost as pale as the sheets. Breathing out a slow breath, he walked over to Sam's bed and threaded his shaky fingers through his baby brother's hair. Pulling a chair up beside the bed, he reached out and grasped Sam's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm here for you tiger, everything is going to be okay."

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 6**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Winchester boys or anything else recognizable in this story. Nope, not making a profit either, just doing this for fun!!

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously**_**: **__Pulling a chair up beside the bed, he reached out and grasped Sam's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm here for you tiger, everything is going to be okay."_

Sitting at his brother's side, Dean couldn't help but think that it should have been him lying in that bed instead of Sammy. He was the one that should have been speared in the chest by the al-mi'raj's horn. "Sammy, why did you do it? Why did you throw yourself between me and that damn rabbit?" He whispered as he carded his fingers through Sam's hair. "I'm the big brother. I'm the one supposed to be protecting you."

Scrubbing a hand though his own hair, he shivered at the sounds coming from within the ICU room, the _whoosh-click _of the ventilator, the beeping of the heart monitor, the sound of the BP cuff inflating itself at five to ten minute intervals, all sounds indicating that Sammy was fighting for his life. God he hated hospitals, but that hate increased tenfold when he was forced to stand on the sidelines and watch Sammy struggle for life. "Come on kiddo, you've got to fight this, you've got to wake up. I'm going crazy here man." He watched for any signs that Sammy had heard him, just a slight twitch or anything but his baby brother remained still an unresponsive.

Feeling a desperate need for coffee, Dean stood up and squeezed his brother's hand. "I'll be right back tiger." He stated as he walked to the door and looked over at Sam one more time before leaving the room. He felt immense guilt about leaving Sammy alone, even for just a few minutes. Bt if he didn't get some caffeine soon, he was going to lose it. Walking down the hall, he really wanted to reach out and punch something to release some angst, but getting himself kicked out of the hospital by security wouldn't help things and would only serve to keep him from the one person he swore to protect.

Taking the elevator down to the basement level, he entered the cafeteria and ordered a strong cup of black coffee and then sat down at one of the tables by the window. Glancing outside, he saw the ominous dark clouds that were building in the evening sky and he marveled out how well they matched his mood making him feel even more somber. Taking a sip of the steaming hot brew to try and clear his thoughts, he heard the sounds of AC/DC's _Highway to Hell _emanating from his cell phone. Pulling the phone from the pocket of his leather jacket, he saw the name Bobby highlighted on the face dial.

"Hey Bobby." Dean stated wearily upon flipping open the cell phone and placing it to his ear.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Sitting at his kitchen table and surrounded by research, Bobby was positive that he had found a nest of vampires who had taken up residence in the small town of Sandusky, Iowa. There were just too many unexplained deaths where the victims had been found with puncture wounds in their necks. Add that to the rash of nighttime violence, it all added up to the dreaded creatures of the night.

Knowing that they had to be stopped, Bobby thought about the different hunters that were close to the area. Ben Tarver was out that way, but he was currently involved with hunting a bearwalker and Stan Winslow was involved in hunting a selkie. The only other logical choice had to be Dean and Sam Winchester. The last he heard, the boys were in Missouri so they would be the perfect candidates for the hunt since they were only a state away.

Picking up one of the various phones that hung on the wall, he called a number he knew by heart. He smirked as he heard the _Highway to Hell _song playing while waiting for Dean to answer. The idjit always did like his rock music. All thoughts of the hunt flew out of his mind however when he heard the weariness and anxiety in Dean's voice as he said "Hey Bobby."

"Dean, what happened, is something wrong?" Bobby queried clutching the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white in the process. "Did something happen to Sammy?" All he heard was the sound of silence and he wondered if the connection had been broken. He was about to hang up and try again when he heard Dean's shaky voice come across the line once again.

"Sammy's hurt Bobby, he's uh, he's in the Intensive Care Unit fi-fighting for his li-life right now." Dean sobbed as he finally allowed himself to break down.

"What the hell happened?" Bobby yelled loudly and then winced realizing how that must have made Dean feel. He didn't need to put more pressure on the kid, it was obvious he was already under enough strain as it was. "Sorry Ace, I didn't mean to yell at ya. What happened and why didn't you call me?"

"Sorry Bobby, with everything that's happened to Sammy, I just didn't think…my mind's not functioning right now ya know."

"S'okay kid, just tell me what the hell happened." Bobby stated needing to know what happened to the youngest Winchester. Those boys were like his own children and he couldn't stand the thought of one of them being hurt and in pain, much less fighting for their very life.

Finding a quiet corner where people wouldn't overhear him. Dean said, "We were hunting an al-mi'raj. The thing somehow got the drop on me and Sammy threw himself in front of it. He sacrificed himself for me Bobby" Dean informed the older hunter as he swiped the tears from his face with his shirt sleeve.

"I thought those damn things were just a legend, they were supposed to have been eradicated over a century ago." Bobby voiced in surprise.

"Yeah, well obviously they weren't." Dean replied with a sigh as he looked at his watch. "Listen Bobby, I gotta get back up there to Sammy. He's been alone long enough."

"Sure Dean, I understand, but before you go, tell me which hospital you boys are at."

"We're at St. Joseph's Memorial Hospital in Bantonsville, Missouri." Dean replied.

"I'm on my way Ace, I'll get there as soon as I can. You just take care of yourself and that brother of yours until I can get there son." Bobby informed the fatigued hunter.

"Thanks Bobby, we'll uh, see ya soon." Dean said before breaking the connection. He was ecstatic to know the man was coming, he really could use Bobby's support right now."

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Walking back up to Sam's room, Dean entered to see Janice standing beside his brother's bed with a tympanic thermometer placed into Sammy's right ear. "So-something wrong?" Dean inquired fearfully as he heard the instrument emit a small beep.

Glancing at the readout on the instrument first, Janice looked up and Dean and said, "Sam's running a slight fever. Hopefully it's just a side effect from the strain his body went through with the surgery."

"But if it's not?" Dean questioned knowing that from the look on Janice's face that it wouldn't be too good.

"Dean, I really shouldn't say anything. I'm not a doctor and I'm not qualified to say …"

"But you have an idea of the things that could happen. Please Janice, I need to know what my brother could be looking at." Dean pleaded as he forced a smile in Janice's direction.

"It could be any number of things really. With a lung injury like Sam's, pneumonia is always a major worry. His lungs are too weak right now to handle any fluid build up, there's also bronchitis, and in the worst case scenario, septicemia or sepsis. We just have to pray that the temperature is Sam's body's way of dealing with all the trauma he has gone through." Janice answered.

"Sonuva…" Dan mumbled as he scrubbed a hand across his face, a five o'clock shadow beginning to show. "Thanks for being honest with me Janice." Dean stated even though the nurses words now had him scared to death about the things that could go wrong.

"You're welcome, I'll be checking in approximately every thirty minutes to check his temperature and to see how he's doing." Janice informed Dean before patting Sam on his blanket covered foot and walking out the door.

Watching as the nurse left once again, Dean walked into the small bathroom and grasped one of the white fluffy washcloths from the small shelf. Rinsing it under the cold water coming from the tap, he wrung out the excess water and carried it into Sam's room and began to wipe down his baby brother's fevered skin. "Bobby's on his way Sam., he should be here be here sometime early tomorrow morning. You know it would be kind of rude for you not to be awake and welcome him so how about opening those blue-green peepers of yours, what do you say dude?

Seeing no reaction, Dean continued his ministrations hoping to cool Sammy down. He knew the nurse said Sam only had a slight fever right now, but he knew just how bad that could be for someone who was in the ICU and on life support. Folding the damp cloth into thirds, Dean placed the washcloth on his brother's forehead and then palmed his cheek. "That's okay kiddo, you get some rest. I'm sure you'll be more willing to open your eyes in the morning."

Snagging the chair off to the side with his foot, Dean pulled it up beside his baby brother's bed and the grasped him by the hand. "Sammy, you and I are going to have a talk once you get out of here about putting yourself in the path of danger. I know you were trying to protect me tiger, but you have no idea what it does to me to see you like this. The guilt is eating me up man. It's my fault you were hurt and there's nothing I can do to change that, nothing I can do to make you better." Dean voiced with a soft sob.

Feeling exhaustion overtake him, Dean lay his crossed arms on Sam's bed and used them to pillow his tired head. Closing his eyes, he wished he could block out the noise of the ventilator as it continued it's _whoosh-clicking _sound. He was nearly asleep when he heard the whisper soft squeak of shoes entering into the room. Sitting up and rubbing his red rimmed eyes, he noticed Janice doing something to Sam's IV port

"Sorry Dean, I didn't mean to wake you. Dr. Kelly has ordered a fever reducer for Sam and I'm adding it to his IV medication. I'll be out of your way in just a minute." Janice stated feeling badly about having woke the older brother. It was obvious that he was beyond exhausted and needed to get some sleep.

Seeing Janice and hearing her calming voice, Dean instantly relaxed and pillowed his head on his arms once again knowing that Sam wasn't in any danger. He allowed himself to drift off to sleep once again and never noticed when Janice placed a blanket over his shoulders to help keep him warm throughout the night.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 7**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously**_**: **_"_Sorry Dean, I didn't mean to wake you. Dr. Kelly has ordered a fever reducer for Sam and I'm adding it to his IV medication. I'll be out of your way in just a minute." Janice stated feeling badly about having woke the older brother. It was obvious that he was beyond exhausted and needed to get some sleep. _

Early the next morning Dean was awakened by the feeling of a hand lightly squeezing his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Bobby standing beside him. "Hey Bobby, when did you get here?" Dean questioned with a yawn as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Just got here Ace." Bobby replied as he glanced as Sam on the bed. It nearly broke his heart to see Sam lying there so quiet and still since the kid was always a talker. He caught sight of the bandages wrapped around Sam's chest that he could see poking out of the blanket and the tube that protruded from his side. But the thing that bothered him most was that awful black tube that was threaded down Sam's throat alluding to the fact that Sam still wasn't breathing on his own. "How's he doing?" Bobby questioned as he nodded towards Sam with his head.

"Not as good as they would like. Sammy started running a low grade fever last night. They've added fever reducer to his IV, but he's still got that damn fever." Dean answered as he placed his palm on Sam's forehead and frowned thinking that Sam felt a little warmer this morning than he did last night.

"Does his doctor know what's causing it?" Bobby questioned with a frown of his own as he noticed the pink blush encompassing Sam's cheeks.

"They're hoping it's just his body's way of handling what's happened to him over the past twenty four hours. His nurse, Janice, said they're supposed to do some tests later on this morning though. Hopefully that will shine a light on what's happening." Dean informed Bobby as he reached out to card his fingers through Sammy's hair.

"Guess we'll know later than." Bobby stated as he finally turned his attention to Dean to see how haggard the oldest Winchester brother was looking. It was obvious that Dean hadn't got much sleep during the night by the dark smudges under his eyes. He could also tell that the stress of worrying about his baby brother was getting to Dean by the way his shoulders drooped and the pained lines that crossed his face. And if he knew Dean, the idjit probably hadn't taken the time to get anything to eat since Sammy had been hurt.

"Dean, why don't you go get a hot meal and then get a room to get a few hours of sleep. I'll stay here and watch over Sammy." Bobby prodded knowing that Dean would end up in the hospital himself if he wasn't careful.

"No way am I leaving him!" Dean informed Bobby vehemently as he grasped Sam's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "It's my fault he's in this damn bed and I'm going to be here when he wakes up,"

"Dean, you can't blame…"

"Don't say it Bobby. It was my fault, If I had been paying attention the way I should have been, that damn rabbit wouldn't have got the drop on me and Sammy wouldn't have been hurt. I have to be here Bobby, I have to tell him I'm sorry that he got hurt because of me."

"Dean" Bobby started to say when he noticed Sam's nurse coming into the room. He immediately became quiet as he and Dean gave the nurse their full attention.

"Good morning gentleman. My name is Shannon and I'll be Samuel's nurse for the next twelve hours." Shannon Morris informed the men standing before her as she walked into her patient's room.

"His name is Sam, he doesn't like Samuel." Dean informed the nurse as he looked at the petite brunette standing before them.

"Sorry, Sam it is then. If you gentleman don't mind, I need to give Sam his morning bath. They'll be coming to get him around noon for his tests to determine what is causing him to keep a low grade fever." Shannon informed Dean and Bobby with a sweet smile.

"Do you know what kind of tests they'll be doing on my baby brother?" Dean questioned needing to know every aspect of what was going to happen to Sammy.

"They'll be drawing some blood to send down to the lab and the doctor has put in an order for some chest x-rays." Janice answered as she got the equipment together to give Sam his sponge bath. "Now if you gentleman will give me about a half hour, I can give Sam his bath and morning meds. I suggest you go to the cafeteria and get some breakfast while you're waiting. They make the best sausage and egg croissants in town."

"You heard the little lady Dean. You can't stay while Sammy gets his bath so ya might as well fill that stomach of yours while you're waiting for her to finish." Bobby stated as he wrapped an arm around Dean's shoulders and led him from the room.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Arriving at the cafeteria, Bobby ordered a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, orange juice and coffee for both him and Dean. He was going to make sure the boy took care of himself whether he wanted to or not. Sitting at the table, he noticed the way that Dean stared off out the window with a sad look on his face. "Dean, Sammy's going to be okay, he's a fighter."

"I know he's a fighter Bobby, he's been through so much lately until I don't know if he has the strength to fight much more." Dean said as tears glistened in his eyes. "I can't lose him Bobby, I can't live without him."

"You're not gonna lose him Dean, believe me." Bobby retorted, praying he was telling the truth. He knew what would happen if Sammy died and he couldn't face the prospect of losing either one of his, _yes his _boys for that's how he looked at them now.

"You don't know that Bobby." Dean mumbled as he raised his right hand and ran it through his hair. "I just want my brother off that damn ventilator, I want him to be healthy again and out of this damn hospital." Dean enunciated as their food was brought to their table.

Thanking the waitress for their food, Bobby took a sip of his coffee and said, "Dean, you've got to start looking on the bright side of things. You don't want Sam picking up on all this negative energy you've got going on right now. I know things are bad, but they _will_ get better. You're just too exhausted right now to believe that. When we get back up to Sam's room, I'm going to request a cot to be brought in for you and you ARE going to get some rest."

"I don't need any sleep Bobby." Dean retorted as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"I didn't ask you what you needed Dean, I flat out said you need some rest and that's what you're going to do. Now you can either get it lying on a cot in Sam's room or I'll hogtie you and take you to a motel myself. It's your choice boy." Bobby stated as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and dared Dean to argue with him.

"Damn you're a bossy old man." Dean smirked as he forked some of the eggs into his mouth, realizing for the first time how truly hungry he was.

"Damn straight." Bobby replied as he dug into his own food, happy to know that he had at least won this small round. Once Dean got some uninterrupted rest, he would feel better about things. Finishing their meals quickly, the hunters returned to Sam's room approximately forty five minutes later.

Walking up to the bed, Dean could see that basically nothing had changed since he was gone. Sitting down in his chair once again, he grasped Sam's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Sammy, Bobby's here now so you might want to think about waking up soon dude. You know how the man hates to be kept waiting. Not only that, but he's already getting bossy with me too. So how about giving me a break and opening those eyes of yours. Come on, please Sammy, I can't take much more of this." Dean pleaded as he lay his arms across the bed and rested his head on them with the silent tears beginning to fall once again. Hearing a sound just a few minutes later, he lifted his head after wiping his eyes to see two orderlies entering the room with Sammy's nurse right behind them.

"Dean, we're going to take Sam up for those chest x-rays now so he'll be gone for a little while. Your uncle has requested that a cot be moved into this room for you to get some rest so that is being taken care of right now." Shannon informed the older brother before switching Sam to a portable ventilator as the orderlies unlocked the wheels to Sammy's bed.

Dean watched with anxiety as his little brother was rolled out of the room and removed from his sight once again. He couldn't help but worry that something would happen to his baby brother and he wouldn't be there to help him. Sighing, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, praying that everything would go okay until Sammy was returned safely to him once again.

"Dean, it's time you lay down and get some sleep." Bobby stated as he entered the room carrying a blanket and a pillow to see Dean looking like he was about dead on his feet. He stood to the side as an orderly rolled in a cot and then set it up on the far side of the room. He waited for the orderly to leave before motioning to the bed and telling Dean to get into it.

Too exhausted to fight with Bobby, Dean pulled off his boots and lay down. "You'll wake me if anything happens?" He queried as he placed his head on the pillow, his eyes already closing.

"Of course ya idjit, now go to sleep." Bobby stated as he placed the blanket over Dean. He wasn't surprised to hear the soft sound of snoring less than five minutes later.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Ninety minutes later, Bobby looked up as they wheeled Sam back into the room. He watched as Sam's nurse hooked him back up to the ventilator and heart monitor. "How's he doing?" Bobby whispered not wanting to wake Dean who had slept through his brother being wheeled back into the room.

"He handled the tests really well. The doctor is looking at his x-rays right now and his labwork shouldn't take too long since the doctor put a rush on it." Shannon informed Bobby as she hung Sam's IV bag on the pole. "Our main concern is that his temperature has went up a little more since this morning."

"Crap, that's not good." Bobby muttered as he wiped a hand across his beard.

"No it's not. Sam's health is too fragile right now to handle much more." Shannon stated as she took Sam's pulse and wrote it on the chart along with his blood pressure and latest temperature. "Once the doctor gets a look at his x-rays and lab results, we'll know more about what we're fighting."

"Well, thanks for everything you're doing for the kid. He's very special to us." Bobby told Shannon as he reached over to place a protective hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Yeah, I can tell that." Shannon replied with a smile as she squeezed Bobby's shoulder in support before walking out the door.

Pulling up a chair between the two brothers, Bobby sat down to watch over the two brothers mumbling about how they were going to be the death of him someday. Grabbing the old tome he had brought with him to work on translating, he began to write notes in the margin of the book as he kept an eye on both brothers.

A few hours later, he noticed that Dean was becoming agitated in his sleep. He was about to shake him awake when the alarms on Sam's heart monitor started blaring.

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 8**

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait. I have been fighting severe bronchitis complicated by a slight case of pneumonia.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_Pulling up a chair between the two brothers, Bobby sat down to watch over the two brothers mumbling about how they were going to be the death of him someday. Grabbing the old tome he had brought with him to work on translating, he began to write notes in the margin of the book as he kept an eye on both brothers. A few hours later, he noticed that Dean was becoming agitated in his sleep. He was about to shake him awake when the alarms on Sam's heart monitor started blaring. _

Hearing the sound of the loudly ringing monotonous tone, Dean was instantly pulled from his sleep as he quickly got up off of the cot and rushed over to his brother's bed. "Sammy!" he cried out in alarm as he glanced furtively over to the heart monitor to see the rapidly squiggling lines suddenly turn into a long straight line. "Oh my God no." He whispered as he threw hand over his mouth just as medical personnel came rushing through the door, a medical 'crash cart' being pushed ahead of them.

"He's straight-lined people, let's get a move on it." Dr. Kelly informed his team as he immediately began CPR on his patient and began calling out orders. "Janice, get Sam off the ventilator and hooked up to an ampubag and start bagging him now. Sarah, bring that crash cart over here and set the defibrillator for 300 jules. Shannon, I need an injection of epinephrine IV push now." Dr. Kelly watched as his nurses followed his instructions quickly and efficiently. Removing his hands for just a second, he allowed Sarah to place the electrodes on Sam's chest before staring up CPR once again.

Once Shannon had injected the epinephrine into the IV, Dr. Kelly stopped his CPR and took the defibrillator paddles that were now being handed to him as Janice squeezed the ampubag, forcing air into Sam's lungs. Placing them in the proper position, he called out "Clear" and waited for just a second before depressing the paddles and watching as Sam's body arched up off the bed. Seeing no change on the heart monitor readout, he called for the machine to be set to 350 jules.

"Come on Sammy, don't you dare give up on me." Dean pleaded as he stood back out of the way, silent tears trickling down his face as he watched the doctor and nurses frantically trying to save his little brother's life.

Placing the paddles on Sam's chest once again, Dr. Kelly called out "Clear" and pressed the paddles to deliver another electrical shock to his patient's body. Focusing his attention on the heart monitor, he breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his young patient finally settle into a more normal sinus rhythm. "Yes, we've got him back." the doc stated as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Shit, that was way too close." Dean gasped just as his knees went weak and he started dropping to the floor, his descent was stopped however as Bobby grasped him by the arms and braced him up.

Leading Dean over towards the cot, Bobby said, "Sit down before ya fall down Ace." He could see how pale Dean was and was worried that the kid might actually pass out on him.

"Thanks Bobby." Dean voiced as he scrubbed a hand across his face and watched as the medical personnel in the room evaluated his brother. "Damn it, why can't things ever be easy for us?" He questioned as he watched his baby brother being placed back on the ventilator.

"Fate just seems to have it in for you Winchesters." Bobby mumbled quietly to himself as if in answer to Dean's question. He couldn't remember a time when they didn't have to fight just to get by in life. Well, if he had any say so about it, things were about to change in that regard. He was going to make sure those boys went home with him once Sammy had recovered enough and the boys were going to take a break from hunting whether they wanted to or not.

Once he had made sure his patient was as stable as possible for someone in his condition, Dr. Kelly, walked over to where his brother an uncle were now sitting. Kneeling in front of the obviously distressed big brother, he placed a supportive hand on his knee. "Dean, you look a little pale, are you feeling okay?" He questioned as he placed his fingers around Dean's wrist and took his pulse, finding it to be a little more rapid than he would have liked.

"I'll be okay just as soon as I know Sammy's okay" Dean answered in response. "What the hell just happened doc?"

"Your brother suffered a life threatening arrhythmia known as ventricular tachycardia just now. What that means is that Sam's heart was working overtime to try and make up for the trauma to his lungs and it led to what is known as sudden death, where the heart quit beating. We we're able to get Sam's heart started again by administering a shock to the heart by defibrillation. I know it all sounds overwhelming right now, but Sam's condition is as stable as it can be for someone in his condition." Dr. John Kelly explained trying to put things in laymen's terms for the hunters. "For now, I want you to make sure you take care of yourself. You're not going to be of any help to Sam if you end up in the hospital yourself suffering from exhaustion."

"Don't you worry doc. I'll make sure he gets the rest he needs." Bobby stated with conviction evident in his voice since the last thing he needed was both of his boys being laid up in a hospital bed.

"I'm sure you will, the boys are lucky to have you in their corner." The doctor stated before reaching out to shake Bobby's hand. Checking Sam's vitals once more, he quietly charted his pulse and blood pressure readings before leaving the room.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Returning to his office, Dr. John Kelly sat down to take a breather from all of the excitement in the ICU. He was looking forward to kicking up his feet and laying down on the couch in his office for an hour or so of rest before having to make his rounds again. Removing his doctor coat, he tossed it on a hook and had just sat down and was about to remove his shoes when he heard a quiet knock upon the door. Heaving a sigh, he called out "Come on in."

Glancing towards the door, he smiled as he saw Shannon approaching with a medical file in her hands. "I take it you have the results of Sam's tests?" He inquired as he reached out to take the file.

"Yes doctor. I knew you would want to see them right away with everything that's happened." Shannon answered as she handed them over.

Opening the files, Dr. John Kelly began to scan the results of the labwork and X-rays. "Son of a bitch, I was afraid of this." He said as he threw the file onto his desk and hung his head. Damn but he hated delivering news like this to the family of his patients. He couldn't help but feel like he was partly to blame when incidents such as this happened under his watch.

"John, are you okay?" Nurse Shannon asked in concern seeing the agitation upon the doctor's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just hate having to inform Sam's family that the measures we have taken to save Sam's life have also put him in even greater jeopardy." John answered as he reached over and read through the file once again to obtain all the information before trekking back to his patient's room to give his family the results of the test.

Walking into the Intensive Care Unit once again, John took a deep breath before entering Sam's room to find that Dean and Bobby had taken up their positions on either side of Sam's bed as the kept a watchful vigil over their youngest. Clearing his throat, John said, "Dean, I have the results of your brother's test."

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Once the doctor had rechecked Sam's vital signs and left the room, Dean and Bobby pulled up chairs beside his bed needing to feel close to their youngest after having nearly lost him. Reaching out to card his fingers through Sam's hair, Dean shivered knowing that it was still a distinct possibility since Sam was on life support and that there was no guarantee that he was going to survive the fight. "Sammy, I know you're tired little brother, but you've got to keep fighting. You can't give up man. I need you here with me. I can't do this without you by my side dude." Dean whispered as he lay a hand on Sam's chest to feel the rise and fall indicating his brother was breathing, even if it was mechanically by ventilator.

It nearly broke Bobby's heart in two as he sat and watched Dean pleading with his brother to fight. Dean was always the tough guy, acting strong in front of everybody, afraid to let his emotions show fearing they would make him look weak. So at moments like this, when he did allow those walls to fall, it made them much more heart rending to see. Closing his eyes, he said a little prayer to the God that Pastor Jim so fervently believed in and asked him to watch over Sam and give him the strength he needed to overcome the trauma to his body.

Hearing the sound of someone approaching, Dean and Bobby both looked over towards the door in surprise to see Sam's doctor entering the room once again. "Doc?" Dean questioned wondering why the man was returning so soon.

"Dean, we've got Sam's test results back and I knew you would want to hear them." John stated as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand in nervousness.

Leaning forward in their chairs, Dean and Bobby both focused their attention on the doc, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"The blood work and x-rays that we did earlier show that Sam has contracted ventilator-associated pneumomia which is more commonly known as VAP." John said as he delivered the diagnosis which was the cause of Sam's fever and ultimately the cardiac arrest earlier.

"Wait a minute, what the hell is that?" Dean asked the doctor having never heard of the illness before.

"It's a sub-type of hospital-acquired pneumonia which occurs in some patients when they have been on a ventilator for at least forty eight hours, sometimes more." Dr. Kelly answered in response to the question.

"So you're telling me that Sammy got sick and is even worse off now because of that damn tube that's stuck down his throat?" Dean gritted out through his teeth as he clenched his fists wanting to hit somebody or some thing.

"Dean, I understand you're upset and you have every reason to be since normally, things like this don't happen very often. But there are times when microorganisms attach themselves to the endotracheal tube and make their way into the lungs with each breath the patient takes. Because Sam's lungs are so weak right now, the bacteria was able to set in and caused an infection in his alveoli or the air filled sacs that line Sam's lungs. We're going to do everything we can to fight the infection and hopefully with a little luck, we'll be able to get a handle on it quickly and Sam will soon start improving." John voiced hoping his words would be prophetic.

"And if you don't get a handle on it?" Dean questioned irritably.

"Then Sam's chances of surviving the next forty eight hours drop dramatically." John answered honestly feeling he owed it to the family to be truthful.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 9**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Sam's chances of surviving the next forty eight hours drop dramatically." The doctor answered honestly feeling he owed it to the family to be truthful about Sam's chancing of surviving the VAP if they didn't contain the pneumonia soon._

"So what the hell are you going to do to stop this pneumonia caused by Sam being on that damn ventilator?" Bobby inquired knowing Dean was probably too upset to even think about it right now.

"We're going to start Sam on a broad spectrum of antibiotics to start fighting the infection. Once we are able to do a blood culture on Sam to find the definitive bacteria that is causing the VAP, then we'll start Sam on antibiotics specifically designed to attack the bacteria." Dr. Kelly answered.

"What's that mean…a broad spectrum of antibiotics?" Bobby questioned, not sure what the doctor meant.

"Basically it means we'll have Sam on what they call empiric therapy. Most likely we will start Sam on Vancomycin, Linezolid and Ciproflaxin to begin with. Together, those antibiotics should give Sam a fighting chance until we are able to determine the causative bacteria and can start him on the antibiotics needed to destroy the organism causing him to be so sick."

"What about his fever?" Dean questioned since it seemed to be on a steady rise over the last few hours.

"I've already asked Shannon to make sure Sam gets a sponge bath with tepid water. If that doesn't bring his fever down, then we'll place a cooling blanket on him and then go from there." The doctor answered using the standard reply when it came to cooling patients with moderate to high fevers.

"Okay, thanks doc." Bobby stated with a gruff voice as he reached out to shake the man's hand knowing Dean wasn't in a very forgiving mood right now and basically blaming the doc for how sick his baby brother was. He really couldn't blame him and he knew Dean would be more understanding and realize it wasn't the doctor's fault once he had some rest and Sam wasn't in life threatening danger. He was just too stressed right now from dealing with the fact that a microorganism he couldn't even see was putting his brother's life in extreme jeopardy.

"You're welcome." Dr. Kelly responded as he firmly pumped Bobby's hand. "I'll be back later to check on Sam's progress to see how he is doing. One of the nurses should be in soon to start Sam on the antibiotics." With those words, the doctor let the room to check on other patients that required his attention.

Turning around to the brothers, Bobby saw Dean sitting forward with his elbows on his knees, head down and resting in his hands. "Dean, what's wrong son?" Bobby asked as he kneeled beside the younger hunter.

"How could this happen Bobby? Hospitals are supposed to help people, not put them at death's door." Dean answered as he raised his red rimmed eyes to look at the gruff man he loved as an uncle.

"It's just a freak accident Dean. There was no way for them to know that this was going to happen. Now we just have to have faith that the doctor knows what he's doing and that he'll pull Sammy through this." Bobby replied as he palmed the nape of Dean's neck and pulled his head forward to rest on his chest.

"Yeah, right" Dean said disbelievingly. "That's kind of hard to do since they allowed him to get the VAP in the first place."

"Okay, if you can't have faith in the doctor, then at least have faith in Sammy. Believe that your brother will do everything in his power to come back to you." Bobby replied.

"Now that I can do." Dean answered with a weak smile as he reached out to card his fingers through Sam's hair. He might not have the faith that Sam so easily showed, but he knew without a doubt that Sam would move hell and high water to try and get back to him.

Hearing the sound of soft footsteps entering the room, Dean looked up to see Shannon with her arms full of supplies. Smiling at the slim young nurse with brown hair and brown eyes, he watched as she hung the mixture of antibiotics on the IV pole and connected them to Sam's IV port. Once she finished, she placed a tympanic ear thermometer into his ear and then recorded the reading of 102.5 on his chart. Turning to face Dean, she said, I am going to give Sam a sponge bath to try and lower his temperature some.

"Okay, but I'm not leaving." Dean stated as kept carding his fingers through Sam's hair, unwilling to break the connection with him.

"That's fine, I totally understand." Shannon said as she reached over to grab the wash cloth from the small wash basin. If it were a sibling of hers that was so sick, she'd feel the same way. Pulling out the washcloth, she squeezed most of the water from it and began to wipe down Sam's face and neck noticing that the flush that aodrned Sam's cheeks. Once she finished with his face and neck, she placed the washcloth in the basin once again and then began lowering the sheets covering Sam down to his waist.

"I'll just take a seat over there." Bobby informed Dean with a nod of his head. Sam deserved to have some privacy, even if he was still unconscious.

Wringing the excess water out of the wash cloth once again, Shannon began wiping down Sam's chest and arms. As she ran the soothing washcloth over Sam's chest, Shannon took extra care around the thoracostomy tube that was allowing the trapped air to escape from Sam's lungs.

Once she finished with the upper body, Shannon pulled the sheet down and completely off of Sam to expose the rest of his body for the sponge bath, showing no signs of embarrassment at the full nakedness of the man lying on the hospital bed. Once again beginning her ministrations, she began to swipe the cloth up and down Sam's muscular legs, talking soothingly to her patient as she worked. Once she had finished, she pulled the light sheet up over Sam once again to mid chest level. "The sponge bath should help for a little while." She informed Dean as she picked up the basin to toss the water out. "I'll be back in an hour to check his temperature once again.

"Okay, thanks Shannon." Dean stated in appreciation of the loving way she had taken care of Sammy.

With a nod of her head, Shannon glanced one more time at Sam and then walked out the door.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Thirty minutes later as Dean and Bobby sat talking quietly with each other, they were surprised to hear the rustling of sheets. Looking over towards Sam, it was obvious to see the kid was in distress as he began to toss his head back and forth. Quickly reaching out to settle his brother, Dean became alarmed at the heat that was radiating off of his baby brother. "Oh God, he's burning up." He gasped as he pushed the nurse call button at he side of Sam's bed.

"Damn it, why the hell can't the kid catch a break." Bobby voiced as he pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and dipped it into the water pitcher beside Sam's bed. He began to wipe Sam's face down with it just as Nurse Shannon came running back into the room.

As soon as Shannon saw the light go off signaling that her patient needed help, she had a sinking feeling in her gut that things had just taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Quickly grabbing the tympanic ear thermometer, she jogged over to Sam's room. Seeing the concern on the faces of Sam's family, she quickly walked to the head of the bed and placed the thermometer gently in Sam's ear. She had no doubt that the reading would be high just from looking at the flush that encompassed the young man's cheeks. Upon hearing the beep, she pulled the thermometer out to see a reading of 104.5 on the readout. "Damn" she whispered as she quickly left the room only to return moments later informing Dean and Bobby that Dr. Kelly was on his way.

Once Sam's doctor arrived in the room, he quickly assessed his patient and knew that he was in danger of organ failure if they didn't get his temperature down and fast. "Shannon, we can forego the cooling blankets, the fever is already too high. I want a tepid bath ran right away." Dr. John Kelly stated as he began to remove Sam from the ventilator and other medical equipment that was hooked up to him. Quickly hooking Sam up to a portable oxygen tank, he unlocked the brakes on the wheels of his bed. "We have to get Sam down the hallway to the therapeutic room. We're going to have to immerse him in a tub of tepid water." John informed Dean anxiously.

Helping the doc to maneuver the bed, Dean and Bobby jogged alongside of it until they reached the room where Shannon was already waiting on them. As Dr. Kelly removed the sheet, and was getting ready to place some straps under Sam's back and legs to hoist him up with the pulley, Dean quickly barged in the way.

"Get out of my way, I'll do it." Dean said as he placed an arm under Sam's back and another under his legs. Quickly lifting him up with ease, Dean lowered his brother into the slightly cool water. Placing a supportive arm around Sam's chest to keep his head out of the water, he cupped his hand and began to scoop water over Sam as best he could. It hurt him to the core to hear Sam moaning even in unconscious knowing how bad it must have made him feel. "Shh, I've got ya tiger." He whispered beside Sam's ear wanting him to know that he wasn't alone. He felt Sam slightly relax into his hold and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he had somehow gotten through to him. Within moments, he felt the shivers starting and wished he could take Sammy's place since his kid brother had been through more than enough already.

Grabbing a plastic cup that was wrapped in sterile paper, Shannon ripped the covering off and used it to dip and pour water over Sam's upper chest, being extremely careful to make sure none went into the tube that was still protruding from the side of Sam's chest The doctor had clamped off the end to keep air from leaking back into it, but she thought she needed to be extra cautious anyway. The patient couldn't take much more trauma without ho body completely shutting down.

After approximately fifteen minutes of Sam being in the cooling bath, Bobby asked, "How much longer does he have to be in there."

"In another five minutes or so, I'll have Shannon check his temperature. If it's down low enough, then will take him out of the bath." The doctor answered as he watched his nurse and Dean take care of sluicing water over Sam's over heated body.

Keeping an eye on Sam's oxygen mask to make sure he kept breathing, John was pleased to see that he was not struggling to breathe as much as he feared he would after taking him of the ventilator. _"I'll have to check Sam's oxygen levels when we get his back to the room."_ he thought, hoping they would be high enough where Sam could remain on the oxygen mask. His family sure could use a little good news with everything that had happened over the past twenty four hours.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 10**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"In another five minutes or so, I'll have Shannon check his temperature. If it's down low enough, then will take him out of the bath." The doctor answered as he watched his nurse and Dean take care of sluicing water over Sam's over heated body._

Checking Sam's temperature once again while he was still immersed in the spatial tub, Shannon smiled up at the doctor and said, "His temperature is down to 100.5 degrees._" _

"Fantastic, let's get him out of the water and back to his room where he'll be more comfortable." Dr. Kelly stated as he watched Dean effortlessly lift his brother from the tub before Shannon wrapped a large towel around the young man and started patting him dry. Once Shannon had finished drying him off as much as possible, Dean gently placed his younger brother on the portable gurney once again to be wheeled back to his room.

"You're going to be okay tiger." Dean whispered as he carded his fingers through Sam's damp hair before the gurney started moving. He was rewarded as he felt Sam lean slightly into his hand, even though he remained unconscious. "Hey doc, I think he's starting to wake up." Dean voiced in a whisper, afraid to break the moment.

"I hope you're right Dean." Dr. John Kelly stated cautiously. He wanted to check out the kid first before becoming too optimistic. Getting Sam back to his room once again, the doctor hooked Sam up to the heart monitor and his IV's once again before placing a pulse oximeter on his finger to gauge his oxygen saturation levels. Getting a reading of ninety one percent, he smiled and said, "His oxygen saturation levels are good enough now that we can leave him off the ventilator." The doc informed Dean and Bobby with a smile before hooking Sam up to a Foley catheter once again.

"Way to go dude." Dean stated with a huge grin as he patted his brother on the leg. At least now he knew Sammy was making progress and it gave him even more hope that his brother would survive the trauma he had sustained. Watching the doctor place another oxygen mask over Sam's nose and mouth, Dean grasped his little brother's hand and gave it a squeeze and was amazed to feel a light squeeze back.

"He just squeezed my hand." Dean gasped looking at the others in the room with misted eyes. "Sammy, can you hear me?" Dean questioned as he kept his grasp on Sam's hand while using the other hand to brush a few loose strands of hair from Sammy's face. "Come on kiddo, I know you're in there, all you have to do is give me a sign." Dean pleaded as he watched Sam's face intently.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As Sam floated in that blissful state just before consciousness, he wondered what he was doing in the water. Had they been to the beach or something and he'd gotten too drunk to remember. He knew he should get out of the water since it was somewhat cold, but his head was too damn fuzzy to give the command to the rest of his body. Just when he started to think he'd have to stay there until the hangover wore off, he felt himself being lifted out of the water by familiar arms. _"Dean" _He thought with relief as he felt a towel being wrapped around him. And just why the hell was his brother patting him dry, but no wait, those pats were too feminine. _"What the hell?" _He wanted to question, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate with him enough to get the words out.

"You're going to be okay tiger." He heard his brother say as he felt fingers running through his hair. Unable to voice anything, he leaned his head into Dean's hand hoping Dean would know that he had been heard. Immediately, he could feel a change in the air around him. What had seemed like a somber mood in the room was now replaced with a lighter one as he heard Dean telling the doc he was waking up._ "Wait a minute, did Dean say doc?" _How the hell had he ended up in the frigging hospital? He didn't have the time to really think about it as he felt a mask placed over his face which seemed to make breathing just a little easier. He felt the doctor doing something to his hand and then felt a warming sensation running through his hand alluding to the fact that he was now hooked up to an IV. A few moments later he felt some hands messing around an area they shouldn't be and wanted to say "_oh shit" _as he realized a catheter was being inserted. Damn but he hated those things with a passion.

Soon, he felt a light squeeze to his hand, and returned the squeeze as best he could. He was then rewarded with hearing Dean's voice once again as he asked "Sammy, can you hear me?" which was soon followed by the words "Come on kiddo, I know you're in there, all you have to do is give me a sign." It took a Herculean struggle, but he soon managed to open his eyes enough to see Dean smiling at him, a lone tear trailing down his cheek.

"Hey there little brother, it's about time you woke up from that beauty nap of yours." Dean voiced once Sammy won the battle and opened his eyes. "I thought you were going to pull a Rip Van Winkle on me."

"De'n" Sam managed to get out with a raspy sounding voice before closing his eyes once again with a sigh and giving in to the blackness.

"S'okay tiger, you get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up." Dean stated knowing that at least this time, it was a healing rest. Snagging a chair with his foot, Dean pulled it over to sit on while he kept watch over his baby brother. He wasn't surprised to see Bobby grab a chair of his own before taking his place on the other side of Sam where he could watch over the two of them in an almost parental way.

"Dean, why don't you try and get some more rest, I'll keep watch." Bobby said knowing that Dean had to be tired since he hadn't slept for more than a few hours in past couple of days.

"M'fine Bobby, you don't have to worry about me." Dean replied with a tired smile.

"Sure ya are kid." Bobby snorted as he shook his head at the stubbornness of the older brother. He knew without a doubt if Dean didn't get some rest soon, that he would pass out from sheer exhaustion and he hoped Sam wouldn't be awake to witness it knowing that it would scare the hell out of the youngest Winchester.

He needn't have worried though as he soon witnessed Dean placing his arms on Sam's bed, his head resting on them. He watched as Dean's eyes slowly closed and his breathing evened out. "Bout time ya damned idjit." He whispered as he walked over to the small roll away bed in the room and picked up the blanket to wrap around Dean's shoulders so he wouldn't get chilled.

Sliding down in his chair to get a little more comfortable, Bobby crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the brothers sleeping. Observing the two of them, he couldn't help but think about the bond they shared and how it would literally kill one to lose the other. Their lives were so intertwined, that they couldn't live as a separate unit anymore.

"Sleep well boys." He whispered with obvious affection. Those two were like his own sons now and he would willingly give up his life for either of them. For just a moment he was startled when he thought he saw a glimpse of John watching over them from the corner. _"Nah, it couldn't be." _He voiced disbelievingly, attributing the sight to his own exhaustion.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Early the next morning, Bobby glanced up to see Nurse Janice entering the room. Placing a finger to his lips to indicate she needed to be quiet, he pointed to the two brother still sleeping peacefully with Dean clasping one of Sam's hands. The younger Winchester had began to stir at one point during the night and Dean had unconsciously reached out and grasped Sam's hand, giving it a light squeeze, even though he never really awakened himself. The small gesture had calmed Sam right away and he had relaxed into a deeper sleep once again

Janice smiled as she took in the sight of Dean asleep at his brother's side with Sam's hand clasped in his. Hoping not to awaken either brother, she quietly walked over and stood beside Dean as she placed the tympanic ear thermometer in Sam's ear canal. Pulling it out seconds later, she noted that Sam had a slight temperature reading of 100.1 on his medical chart.

Sensing someone else in the room, Dean woke up to feel some kinks in his back from having slept the way he did. He stretched trying to work a few of them out before glancing up at the nurse who was currently taking Sam's vital signs. "How's he doing?" He questioned with a yawn as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"He seems to be doing a little better." Janice answered. "His temperature has dropped a little more and his blood pressure has been pretty well stable over the last few hours. Dr. Kelly will be coming in soon to listen to his lungs. If his breath sounds are okay, he plans on removing the thoracostomy tube later today.

"Best news I've heard in a while." Bobby stated as he took off his ball cap and ran his fingers through his slightly graying hair. From the sound of it, the youngest Winchester was finally on the road to recovery. Once Sam was released, he would make sure that the boys came to his place to stay for a while so that Sam could rebuild his strength. He watched as Janice finished what she was doing before excusing herself and walking out the door. Feeling the dire need for some caffeine to start the day, he was about to ask Dean if he wanted a cup also when Sam started moving restlessly about on the bed.

"Sammy?" Dean questioned as he stood beside his brother's bed, anxiously waiting to see if he would fully awaken this time.

"De" Sam rasped with a scratchy voice as he reached up to try and move the oxygen mask away from his face.

"No Sammy, leave it there. You need it." Dean informed his brother as he stopped Sam from taking the mask off.

"Hu-hurts" Sam whispered as he placed a hand on his throat which felt like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper inside.

"I know it does tiger, but the doc will be here soon and we'll see if he'll give you something for the pain." Dean replied as he spooned some ice chips. "Here this should help some until he gets here." Dean said as he waited for Bobby to remove the mask enough for him to place the ice hips in Sam's mouth.

"Th-thanks." Sam rasped, enjoying the soothing feeling the melting chips created as the water slid down his throat. He accepted another spoonful before raising his hand, palm out to let Dean know that he had had enough. Groaning as Bobby once again placed the oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off into slumber once again.

**TBC Well, it looks like Sammy is finally getting better….or is he?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 11**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Th-thanks." Sam rasped, enjoying the soothing feeling the melting chips created as the water slid down his throat. He accepted another spoonful before raising his hand, palm out to let Dean know that he had had enough. Groaning as Bobby once again placed the oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off into slumber once again._

As Sam drifted in and out of wakefulness over the next few hours, he couldn't help but notice Dean was right there by his side each and every time he woke up. Glancing at his big brother's pale face, he couldn't help but wonder how much sleep he had gotten over the past few days. He figured it had to be very little if the dark smudges under his eyes were any indication of the amount of sleep he had managed to get. "De'n." He croaked out from the dryness that still permeated his throat from the ventilation tube.

"Sammy, what is it? Are you hurting, do you need me to ask for some more pain medication?" Dean asked as he sat up from the slouched position he was in and started carding his fingers through Sam's hair comfortingly.

"Nooo, I'm f-fine. You need to g-go get some rest du-due. You're beginning to lo-look like a raccoon." Sam smirked with a small wince as he reached a hand up to rub at his throat.

"Yeah well, even with these raccoon features, I'd still look better than you any day of the week." Dean retorted trying to keep up the joking atmosphere in the room.

Bobby grinned at he watched the two brothers bantering back and forth. The atmosphere in the room had been so dismal over the past few days and it felt good to see both brothers picking at each other. He was about to join in with the bantering himself when he heard the door open. And seemingly as one, all three hunters looked over to see Dr. John Kelly walking into the room.

"It's good to see you awake Sam, how are you feeling?" John asked as he approached the side of Sam's bed to note that his patient's skin tone was looking a little better than it had been over the past couple of days. Encircling Sam's wrist with his hand, he took his pulse as he waited for Sam to answer.

"M'okay I guess." Sam answered as he looked up at the doc who was now in the process of taking his blood pressure.

"That's good. I just need to check a few things here and if everything is fine, I plan on removing that thoracostomy tube from your chest." Dr. Kelly informed Sam with a smile as he noted the output of drainage from the tube.

Both Dean and Bobby watched the doctor with anticipation as he evaluated Sam by also listening to his heart and lung sounds. They were afraid to hope for a good outcome fearing that it could jinx things for the youngest Winchester.

"I am happy to inform you that your lung sounds are good, no more crackling in there." Dr. John Kelly stated with a smile as he patted his young patient on the arm. "Let me call in a nurse and we'll have that tube removed in no time." John informed his patient as he pushed the nurse call button and asked Janice to bring in the supplies he would need for the removal. After Janice walked in the room a few minutes later carrying some sterile gloves along with a tube of lidocaine, John informed the young man before him about what would happen during the procedure.

"Sam, I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you. The tube removal is usually quite painful so I am going to anesthetize the area around the incision to help numb the pain some. You're going to feel a slight pulling sensation which causes pressure in the pleural and subcutaneous areas of your chest as the tube is removed, this is what causes the pain." John stated regretfully as he opened the tube of lidocaine and began to apply it generously to the area around the incision.

Upon hearing the doctor's words, Dean immediately walked around the bed and stood at his baby brother's side and grasped his hand giving it a comforting squeeze letting Sam know he would be right there for him if needed.

"Okay Sam, I'm going to count to three and then remove the tube as quickly as possible." Dr. Kelly informed his patient to prepare him for the removal. "One. Two. Three." He orally counted and then began to pull the tube out carefully.

Dean watched Sam's face as the doctor began to count. He could see the fear beginning to build and gave Sam's hand another squeeze. "It's going to be alright kiddo." He said, just as the doctor began to remove the tube. He hated seeing the tears that immediately leaped into Sam's eyes once the procedure began. He felt Sam squeeze his hand hard and watched as he bit on his bottom lip to keep from crying out in pain. "S'okay tiger, just try to relax." He said as he used his other hand to card his fingers soothingly through Sam's hair once again.

By the time the tube was fully removed, Sam was gasping in pain with tears leaking from his eyes that were now scrunched shut. He hated looking weak in front of Dean and Bobby, but it hurt too damn much and he was unable to hide the pain he was in. "M'Sorry" He mumbled in shame refusing to open his eyes and look at the others.

"There's no reason to apologize Sam. Hell, after everything you've been through, you have every right to shed a few tears ya idjit." Bobby stated as he stood near Dean and placed his hand on Sam's knee, giving it a supportive squeeze. He never could stand to see Sam so hard on himself.

"Thanks Bobby." Sam intoned with a pain filled voice as he opened his eyes to look at the man who was so much like a father to him now. He didn't know what he and Dean would do if they didn't have the gruff hunter in their lives to rely on when they needed help.

"No thanks needed son." Bobby replied with tears misting his own eyes as he saw the warmth radiating from Sam's eyes.

Once Dr. Kelly had finished cleaning and suturing the small incision as the family talked, he cleared his throat to get his young patient's attention. Once Sam turned his head to look at him, he said, "Sam, I've cleaned and sutured the small incision area and I'm going to give you an injection of Demerol to help with the pain that you're feeling now."

Accepting a sterile syringe and the vial of pain killer, John withdrew the needed dose from the small clear vile and then quickly injected the medication into the port on Sam's IV. "You should feel the effects of the medicine within the next few minutes." He stated as he disposed of the needle in a clearly marked receptacle for such items and then replaced the oxygen mask Sam was wearing with a nasal canula to aid his breathing. Once he saw the meds kick in and the pain lines recede from Sam's face, he walked out of the room to give the small family some privacy to talk.

After watching the doctor leave the room, Dean smiled at his younger brother. "Damn it's good to see that you're finally getting better Sammy. You don't know how sick I was of seeing that tube protruding from your chest, especially since…"

"Don't say it Dean, It's not your fault that I was hurt so you can just let go of that guilt right now big brother." Sam rasped knowing that Dean was still carrying that burden on his shoulders. "I was the one who chose to throw myself in front of that thing so…"

"Yeah and if you ever do something so damn stupid again, I'll kill ya myself." Dean stated cutting his baby brother off. "I am the protector here Sammy, not you."

"That protection thing goes both ways whether you like it or not dude." Sam informed Dean with a wince as he tried to make himself more comfortable on the bed which immediately caught his brother's attention.

"Sammy, what's wrong, do I need to get the doc back in here?" Dean inquired, agitation evident in his voice.

"No, I'm just sore is all." Sam said with a tight smile knowing that Dean couldn't help being so over protective. No way was he going to admit to the pain in his back.

"Yeah, well if you start hurting again, I'm calling the doc whether you like it or not." Dean stated as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He wasn't going to let Sammy suffer pain when he didn't have to.

Knowing that Dean was entering full on mother hen mode, Sam decided it was time to distract his big brother and he knew the perfect way to do it too.

"Hey Dean?"

"Yeah Sammy?"

"When we were walking out of those woods after the al-mi'raj attack, I distinctly remember you making a promise to keep me awake and moving."

"Uh, I don't remember making any promises Sam, you must have been delirious." Dean replied dishonestly remembering the deal he had made with Sam if he kept walking. He had honestly hoped Sam wouldn't remember that conversation.

"No way Dean, you are not getting out of this one. You agreed to rent the movie Bambi and that we'd watch it together." Sam stated with conviction just as the room was filled with the sounds of Bobby snickering over in the corner.

"And just what the hell do you think is so funny?" Dean questioned Bobby as he turned round and gave him a fiery look.

"You, watching Bambi, now that's something I have got to see." Bobby guffawed as he swiped a hand across his face since tears were beginning to stream down it from trying to hold back the laughter. He couldn't imagine Dean sitting through a Disney movie and watching it from beginning to end.

"Okay, it's a deal. Just as soon as Sammy gets out of the hospital, the three of us will kick back with some beers, soda for Sammy though, and watch Bambi. Hell, I'll even spring for some pizza." Dean replied immediately trapping Bobby into having to watch the movie too.

"Now wait a minute Dean, I didn't say I was going to watch…"

"Oh yes you did Bobby and you ain't getting out of it now either." Dean informed the older hunter with a smirk of his own.

"Dean's right Bobby, you did say that Dean watching Bambi was _something you had to see_." Sammy stated backing his big brother up much to the chagrin of the older hunter.

"Well damn, guess I'm stuck then." Bobby replied as he pulled off his ball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. "How the hell do I let you idjits get me into these messes?" He grumbled at the boys who were so much like sons to him now.

"Aw, admit it Bobby, you wouldn't know what to do without us." Dean said as he nudged the gruff hunter with his shoulder.

Bobby harrumphed at hearing the words. "You two damn sure make my life a lot more interesting." Bobby replied with a smile knowing he wouldn't have it any other way.

"You know we love you too Bobby." Sam said as he bit on his lip to keep from gasping at the twinge of pain he felt in his back once again. He didn't want to dampen the good mood that was permeating the room right now by admitting to the fact that he was hurting.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 12**

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the wait on this one. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this chapter.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **"_You know we love you too Bobby." Sam said as he bit on his lip to keep from gasping at the twinge of pain he felt in his back once again. He didn't want to dampen the good mood that was permeating the room right now by admitting to the fact that he was hurting._

Sitting on the bed and listening to Dean and Bobby talk a few hours later about who had been on the wildest hunt of all time, Sam really wished the ache in his mid-back area would subside at least a little. It was now a constant hurt much like that of a tooth ache. He tried to keep up a façade by laughing at the stories that were becoming more and more ridiculous as his brother and Bobby overly inflated what had actually happened on their hunts even though he was beyond exhausted.

"You should have seen it Bobby. I'm telling you that vampire must have been about twelve feet tall…maybe even taller than that." Dean said with a serious expression on his face. "Luckily for me there was some stairs in the building they had been using for a hideout, otherwise I would have never been able to get high enough to lop his damn head off."

"You really think I am going to believe that story ya damned idjit?" Bobby questioned disbelievingly with a smirk. "Ain't no vampire ever reached a height of twelve feet or more. They're nearly human except for their thirst for blood and penchant for sleeping through the day."

"I'm telling ya Bobby, it's true, just ask Sammy over there." Dean stated as he nodded his heard towards Sam who was now laying quietly on the hospital bed.

"Tell him about those vampires we hunted up in…Sammy, are you okay?" Dean queried as he noticed how quiet his brother had suddenly become as well as the swelling around Sam's eye. Come to think of it, his whole face seemed a little puffy, but that could be do to the trauma he had been through over the past few days.

"Yeah, M'fine." Sam whispered as he blearily looked his brother in the eyes. "Just tired is all."

"You get some sleep kiddo." Dean told him as he stood up and walked over to his baby brother's bed and began carding his fingers through Sam's hair to lull him off to sleep. Taking a close look at his baby brother, he could see the pain lines in his face and wondered why Sammy hadn't admitted to hurting. Damn the Winchester stubbornness for always putting on a show and not admitting to it when it came to being sick

Once he was sure Sam was asleep, Dean looked up at Bobby with a concerned look on his face. "Bobby, will you go ask Dr. Kelly if he'll come and check on Sammy? Something feels off to me and I'm worried about the way his face is swelling.

"Sure Dean." Bobby replied as he strode quickly out of the room. Dean's instincts were uncanny when it came to his little brother and Bobby didn't doubt for a minute that something really was going on with Sammy that needed tending to.

Pulling a chair up to Sam's bedside, Dean suddenly felt tense and reached out to grasp his little brother's hand. He didn't know why, but he felt like the hair on his skin was suddenly standing on ends. Glancing toward the door, he willed Bobby to return quickly with the doctor.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Doctor John Kelly was standing at the nurses station filling in some information on a patient's chart when he noticed the man referred to as Sam's Uncle Bobby come walking quickly towards him. Closing the chart and placing it on the stand, he turned to face the obviously anxious man. "Bobby, is something wrong?" He inquired as the hunter finally stopped in front of him.

"That's what we would like to find out." Bobby answered as he explained to the doctor that Dean would like for him to come check on Sammy. He told Dr. Kelly about how Dean was always on the mark with his intuition when it came to Sam and that right now, the oldest brother was concerned for his youngest brother's health.

Turning to face the nurse at the desk, John said, "Janice, I am going to be in Sam's room for a few minutes. Just buzz if you need me." He still had rounds to do with his other patient's, but he, himself had experienced those feelings of intuition with his own brother and knew they were right more often than not. Striding down to Sam's room beside Bobby, he walked in to see Dean keeping watch over his brother as he slept.

Silently strolling up to Sam's bed, he immediately became uneasy noticing the puffiness around his eyes, not to mention his swollen face. Grasping Sam's hands, he observed both wrists to see that they too were slightly swollen. "Damn, this isn't good he thought as he reached out to pull the blanket over Sam down to his waist and began to lightly thump on Sam's stomach area.

"Doc?" Dean questioned shakily as he watched John palpitating Sam's abdomen.

"Just one more moment Dean." Dr. Kelly stated wanting to confirm what he was thinking before mentioning hisfears to Dean. Glancing down at the urine bag that was connected to Sam's catheter, he saw that there was most definitely a decrease in urine output over the past couple of days. _"Son of a bitch." _He thought to himself as he sighed deeply knowing that once again, he was going to be the bearer of bad news.

Finally turning his attention to the oldest Winchester brother, Dr. Kelly said, "Dean, I'm going to have to run a few more tests on Sammy to confirm my suspicion, but it looks like Sam might be suffering from kidney failure."

Dean's face immediately paled white as a sheet upon hearing the words. Running shaky hand through his own hair as he tried to digest the latest setback, he focused glassy eyes on the doctor standing before him, "But how, Sammy was getting better I thought."

"Apparently the high fever he suffered did some damage to his kidneys and the results of it are just now beginning to show up." John answered as he placed a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "I need to do some urine and blood tests to be sure that it is indeed kidney failure before we decide the next level of treatment."

"Shit." Gasped Dean as he placed his elbows on his knees and then rested his forehead in his hands, tears hidden from the others. He didn't know how much more bad news he could take before going insane.

"Dean, I know it's hard, but try not to worry. At least we seem to have caught it in the early stages where it will be more treatable." John said feeling sorry for the brother. It wasn't fair for him to have to deal with another setback when he had thought his brother was finally getting well.

"Doc, if you are right and Sam is suffering from Kidney failure, what are the options for treating it?" Bobby queried stoically knowing Dean was too upset to even think straight right now let alone ask questions concerning his brother's care. He had to be strong for Dean, they both couldn't fall apart right now.

"Well, that depends on the severity of the kidney disease or failure." John answered honestly. "In the best case scenario, we would be able to use dietary restrictions and drugs to treat Sam. If the failure is a little more severe than we thought, then we would have to look at placing Sam on dialysis a few times a week."

"And in the worst case scenario?" Bobby asked, a little afraid to hear what the answer would be.

"Sam would have to be placed on the kidney transplant list." John replied solemnly. "But let's hope it won't come down to that."

"Well if worse does to pass, I want to be tested to see if I am a viable match for the kid and I know his brother will too. I know that immediate family is usually more compatible, but I want to be tested just in case." Bobby stated emphatically.

"I promise, if the worst case scenario does present itself, then you and Dean will be the first ones we test to check for compatibility." The doctor stated pleased that Sam's small family was willing to do such a thing for him.

"So what happens now?" Dean questioned a he finally pulled himself together, swiped his eyes, and looked up at the doctor.

"I am going to have a phlebotomist come up and draw some of Sam's blood to be tested, plus I'll have somebody run down a urine sample of his to the lab to be tested also." Dr. Kelly answered as he wrote down instructions on Sam's chart before leaving the room to continue his rounds. The sooner they started the tests, the sooner he would be able to determine a type of treatment for his young patient.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Dean watched the phlebotomist walk in carrying a tray that contained the materials she would need to draw Sam's blood.

"Do you need me to wake my brother up?" Dean questioned as he watched the woman place her tray on the small stand beside Sam's hospital bed.

"No, let him sleep. I can draw the blood through one of the ports in his IV," Tracy, the phlebotomist answered as she readied her materials for the task. It was obvious the young man laying on the bed was extremely tired and he probably needed all the sleep he could get. Drawing four tubes of blood, Tracy capped them off and labeled them before leaving the room to take them back to the lab since the doctor wanted the results back as soon as possible.

"Well, I guess we'll know something soon one way or the other." Bobby rasped as he pulled off his ball cap and scratched his head. Damn, he hated waiting when it concerned the Winchester boys.

"Yeah, I guess." Dean answered without really thinking about the words as he sat and watched his brother sleeping. He wondered how in the hell he was supposed to break this latest news to his brother when Sam finally woke up. Sam so did not need any more worry on his already burdened shoulders.

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 13**

**Author's Note: Just a short note to let you know that we have another family medical situation going on. We're waiting on blood work and tests to see if my four year old nephew is going to be admitted to the hospital for flu and breathing problems. It could be a few days between updates depending on how he does.**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Yeah, I guess." Dean answered without really thinking about the words as he sat and watched his brother sleeping. He wondered how in the hell he was supposed to break this latest news about possible kidney failure to his brother when Sam finally woke up. Sam so did not need any more worry on his already burdened shoulders._

Upon awaking a few hours later, Sam couldn't believe how tired he still was, He thought he would feel refreshed after a good nap, but if anything, it just made him feel more tired than usual. Opening his eyes with a weary sigh, he looked up to see both Dean and Bobby watching him intently. "Hey guys." He voiced with a slight whisper while trying to smile, but not quite pulling it off.

"Hey yourself, how are you feeling kiddo?" Dean questioned as he leaned over and brushed the sweat soaked bangs from Sammy's face.

"I've been better I guess." Sam answered honestly as he felt a case of nausea starting to take hold in his stomach. He hated the queasy feeling that always precipitated the vomiting that he knew was sure to come. Taking a deep breath, he tried to quell the nausea as he swallowed the saliva building up in his mouth, but it was to no avail. "De." He pleaded just before covering his mouth as it suddenly filled with the vile taste of vomit.

Instantly recognizing his brother's distress, Dean grabbed the kidney shaped (and wasn't that just at ironic turn of events) emesis basin from the small dresser beside Sam's bed and held it below Sam's mouth as his brother suddenly expelled the foul tasting liquid with a heave. Using his other hand, he rubbed comforting circles on Sammy's back while Bobby went to the small bathroom to grab a washcloth and wet it to place over the nape of Sam's neck. "Just relax Tiger, I've got you." Dean stated as he smiled his thanks at Bobby who quickly placed the washcloth on Sam's neck while using another to mop his sweat laced forehead.

Once he had stopped vomiting and the dry heaves had passed, Sam was grateful for the help that Dean gave him as he gently helped him to lay back against the bed. "Thanks Dean." He stated in gratitude a little breathlessly.

"No problem dude." Dean answered as he reached over and grasped the glass of water sitting near his brother's bedside. Placing the straw against Sammy's lips, he said, "Drink some of this Sammy, it will help you feel better. He watched as Sam took a few tentative sips before pushing the glass away.

"M'sorry I'm being such a pain in the ass." Sam informed the hunters as he looked from Bobby to Dean. He really wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible and it seemed live everything was working against him in that regard.

"There's nothing to be sorry for Sam." Bobby said as he reached out and grasped Sam's hand giving it a light squeeze. "S'not your fault you're sick ya knucklehead." Seeing the warm smile that Sam sent his way, he couldn't help but return it thinking there was nothing he wouldn't do for John's boys.

Sending a fleeting glance Dean's way, he could see the way that Dean was fighting with himself about whether or not to give Sammy the bad news they had learned just a few short hours ago. He didn't envy the older brother of being in the position to have to break the news.

Hearing Sam apologize for being sick nearly broke Dean's heart knowing what he was going to have to tell him even though his own mind was begging him not to. Sam deserved to know the fight he had ahead of him and why he was feeling so sick and weak lately instead of being kept in the dark. Rubbing a hand across his mouth that had suddenly become dry, Dean said, "Sammy, we need to talk." As he fought back the tears that wanted to spring free.

Focusing his attention on Dean, Sam could see the angst that was clearly written on his face as well as the tears glistening in his brother's eyes that Dean was trying to keep from falling. A sudden dread built up in his chest as he started chewing on his bottom lip, afraid of what Dean was about to say. "What's wrong?" He queried meekly as he glanced from his brother to Bobby and then back again to see the nervous look upon both their faces.

"Sammy, the doc was in here earlier to examine you while you were still sleeping and he uh, he found something that gave him cause for concern." Dean said hesitantly as he fiddled with the bottom of his t-shirt.

"What Dean, wh-what did he find?"

"Damn it Sammy, the man has reason to think you might be suffering from kidney failure." Dean blurted out quickly, hating every moment of it.

"N-n-nooo, you're wrong Dean." Sam objected as he looked at him with tear filled eyes that were begging him to rescind what he had said. He was so tired of being cooped up in the hospital and feeling weak. He wanted to be on the road again hunting with his brother.

"I'm sorry kiddo, God I'm so sorry." Dean replied as he carded his fingers through Sammy's hair. "You know I would give anything for this not to have happened, but if the doctor is right, then we'll face the consequences together."

"Dean you don't understand, I'm sick of being sick. I wanna get out of here. Please Dean?" Sam pleaded using those puppy dog eyes that always seemed to work on his brother when he needed them to.

Looking away from those eyes before he caved in, Dean hung his head and said, "Sammy, I wish I could take you out of here man. I wish we could go far away from here and leave our troubles behind. But I AM NOT going to take chances with your life. You are one of the strongest people I know and if it is kidney failure, I know you can beat it so we stay here and you go through whatever tests the doc wants you to take. I mean it Sam, we're staying this time."

Knowing that there was no way he'd be able to change his stubborn brother's mind without a fight that he just wasn't up for right now, Sam heaved a deep sigh and asked, "So what do these tests entail, what have I got to do?"

"I can answer that for you Sam." The doctor answered as he walked into the room while making his regular rounds. "The first line of tests we do for detecting kidney failure included running tests on blood and urine samples. We took those earlier while you were still sleeping and I'm waiting on the results of those test now. The tests will show us how well your kidneys are removing excess fluid and wastes. The level of waste products in your blood will increase as kidney filtration decreases showing there is a problem. The urinalysis will show us the white blood cell count and whether or not protein is evident in your urine."

"And if these tests show there is a problem?" Dean inquired as he also listened intently to what the doctor was saying.

"Then we do an imaging scan if we suspect a structural problem exists meaning the kidney is damaged. We'll do either a CT scan or an ultrasound which will give us a clear picture of what is going on inside Sam's body." Dr. Kelly stated in answer to the question.

"Say these scans you are talking about do show an abnormality, then what?" Bobby questioned wanting to make sure they knew everything that Sam would be facing in the near future. If they were going to be there for Sammy, they had to know what they would be facing as a family.

"If an abnormality is present, we will do a biopsy. We'll stick a long needle into Sam's kidney to remove pieces of tissue for testing. This of course will let us know the best option for treatment. Sam's treatment will depend on the outcome of the tests. Hopefully we'll be able to reverse the damage with dietary restrictions, if not, then Sam will be looking at dialysis at least three times a week until the kidney is able to repair itself or possibly even surgery." Dr. John Kelly informed the grizzled hunter.

"So how long before we know the results of the blood and urine tests?" Sam questioned as he tried to digest all the information they had been given in such a short amount of time.

"I've put a rush on the results so hopefully we will have them back within the next hour." John answered as he placed a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder before reaching down to grasp his wrist and take his pulse before writing on his chart. "Are there any more question before I leave?" John inquired as he placed Sam's chart in the holder at the foot of his bed.

"Yeah, if it does come down to dialysis, do I have to stay here in the hospital or can it be done on an out patient basis?" Sam asked inquisitively.

"That depends on how well your lungs are doing Sam. If I am happy with your progress, then yes, you can be discharged and the dialysis can be done on an outpatient basis." The doctor answered with a smile.

Hearing that small bit of good news prompted Bobby to ask a question of his own. If Sammy could be discharged he didn't want the brothers staying in a motel somewhere. Sam would do better if he was in a place where he felt more comfortable. "Hey doc, I have a question also. If you do release Sammy, would it be safe for him to make a four hour trip to my place in Sioux City, South Dakota? I mean the boys would be more comfortable staying with me than they would in some motel down the road."

"As long as you stopped to give him a chance to relax every so often, I don't see how it would hurt anything." John replied as he glanced down at his young patient. "Actually, Sioux City Memorial has one of the best dialysis units in the area. I know a doctor there that I could recommend for Sam if it turns out that he does indeed have to have the procedure."

"Thanks Doc, will you please let us know as soon as you hear something?" Dean asked seeing the exhaustion in Sammy's eyes. His knew his brother needed rest more than anything right now and honestly, he could use the time to think things through himself.

"Sure Dean, I'll let you know just as soon as I get the results." Dr. Kelly answered before walking quietly out of the room to give the family some time alone knowing they needed to discuss their options should push come to shove.

Carding his fingers through Sammy's hair until his brother dropped off to sleep due to the comforting motion, Dean said, "Bobby I don't know how to thank you for your offer to let us stay with you. I know Sam will feel much better if he needs dialysis being at a place where he feels at home."

"Ya don't have to thank me ya idjit." Bobby voiced as he pulled off his ball cap and ran his fingers through his slightly graying hair. "You boys are family now and family sticks together." He had just gotten the words out when the doctor came walking back into the room sooner than expected.

"Dean, I have the results of Sam's tests."

**TBC **_I hope it made sense with the way my mind has been addled over the last couple of days._


	14. Chapter 14

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 14**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Dean, I have the results of Sam's tests." _

Dean couldn't help but feel a little anxious as he looked at the piece of paper in the doctor's hands. The answer to whether or not his brother would have to have dialysis was literally held at the doctor's finger tips. Taking a deep, calming breath, he asked, "So what's the verdict doc?"

"I'm sorry to say the blood tests show a definite abnormality. We'll need to do a CT scan and a biopsy to be sure, but it looks like Sam's kidney has been damaged to the extent that he will require dialysis to remove the waste products in his blood until his kidney is able to do the work on its own once again."

"Son of a bitch." Dean gritted out through clenched teeth as he clenched his hands into a fist. "Why does everything always have to happen to him?"

"Calm down Dean, you don't want to wake Sammy and let him see you so upset." Bobby intoned as he placed a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Sam is going to have a rough time accepting the news and he's going to need you to be strong for him."

"Yeah, I know you're right Bobby, it's just that Sammy never seems to catch a break. It's like fate has it in for the kid or something." Dean stated with sadness as he scrubbed a weary hand across his face and then walked over to stand by Sammy's bed. Glancing down at his brother, he couldn't help but think how deceptive things looked with him sleeping so peacefully right now.

Running his fingers lightly through Sam's disheveled hair, he asked the doc, "So when do you need to do the new procedures?"

"They can wait until your brother awakens on his own, there's no sense in disturbing him while he is sleeping so peacefully. When he awakens, I can break the news to him if you'd like." Dr. Kelly informed Dean knowing he'd already had to deliver bad news once to his brother.

"No, he's my brother, it's my responsibility, I'll do it." Dean said as tears began to film his eyes. If it weren't for bad luck, they'd have no luck at all.

"Okay then, I'll leave you gentleman alone." Dr. John Kelly stated as he left the room to go set up the CT scan for later that same afternoon. It was times like this that he really hated being a doctor.

After watching the doctor walk away, Dean collapsed down into the chair with his head in his hands. "What are we gonna do Bobby?"

"I'll tell ya what you're gonna do ya idjit. You're gonna pull yourself together and be there for that boy, but ya ain't gonna do it alone. I'll be there for you boys every step of the way. As soon as the doc says it's okay, we'll load Sammy up and make him as comfortable as possible and then you boys are coming to stay with me." Bobby answered as he cupped the nape of Dean's neck and pulled him forward into a hug. "You're not alone kid."

"Thanks Bobby." Dean whispered as he relaxed against Bobby's hold. Finally, he didn't feel as if he was suffering the weight of the world on his shoulders alone, he had somebody willing to help carry the burden for a little while.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Awaking just a few short hours later, Sam opened gritty eyes to find Bobby sitting by his bed watching over him and no sign of Dean. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at the hunter before asking "Where's Dean?"

He's over there on the roll away cot sleeping." Bobby answered as he nodded his head in the direction of the bed. "Your brother's exhausted so I made the stubborn idjit lay down so he could get some rest."

"Thanks for watching over him for me Bobby, I hate it when he doesn't take care of himself because he's too concerned for me."

"That comes with being a big brother, Sammy. Your needs will always come first whether you like it or not."

Yeah, I know, that's what I'm afraid of." Sam admitted as he chewed on his bottom lip.

"What do you mean kiddo?" Bobby asked with concern.

"What if something happens to me Bobby? I'm afraid of what Dean will do if…"

"Don't even start thinking like that Sam. You're going to be fine. I know things are up in the air at the moment, but they'll get better, just wait and see." Bobby stated not telling Sam about the blood test results knowing that Dean wanted to be the one to tell him. Watching Sam fiddle with the blanket, he knew the kid still had something on his mind that was bothering him. Reaching out to place a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder, he asked. "I can tell something is eating at you, so spill Tiger."

"I-I'm scared Bobby." Sam stated as he looked up at the hunter with glistening eyes. "All my life I've known to expect danger when it came to the hunt, but I don't know what to expect when it comes to dialysis, if I have to have it, and it scares the hell out of me." Feeling a little ashamed for admitting that he was scared, Sam hung his head towards his chest.

"Aw Sammy" Bobby intoned before sitting on the edge of his bed and pulling him into a hug. He could feel the boy slightly trembling and it hurt him to his very soul to know he was feeling so scared. "Listen to me Sam, you don't have to be afraid of this. We'll research everything involved and then you'll know what to expect kiddo. You won't be going through this blind, and besides ya idjit, Dean and I will be there for you every step of the way. Like I told Dean earlier, you boys aren't alone in this. Do you hear me son?" Bobby queried as he placed his fingers under Sam's chin and gently lifted his head to make Sammy look at him.

"Yes Sir, I hear you." Sam said with a smile and leaned into Bobby's embrace once again, finally letting all of his frustrations out.

Unbeknownst to Sam and Bobby, Dean was lying on the roll away bed wide awake with his back to them and listening to every word they said with silent tears streaming down his cheeks. He decided not to interrupt the moment between the two hunters since Sammy was finally talking about his fears. He knew Sam would clam up and try to hide how he was feeling if he knew how much it was upsetting his big brother. Knowing that Bobby had the situation firmly in hand, he wiped his tears and allowed himself to rest once again.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Later that afternoon after Dean had told Sam about the need for the CT scan and the biopsy, Dr. Kelly entered the room to talk to Sam about the procedure. He could tell the young man had been upset by the news with the tear tracks that adorned his face, but he wanted to be sure his patient, as well as his family, understood what was going to happen. Pulling up a chair beside Sam's bed, John said, "Sam I'm here to talk to you about what's going to happen with the upcoming biopsy. The first thing you need to know is that the biopsy is basically a diagnostic test which involves collecting small samples of your kidney. While rare, there can be complications and they are usually mild and easily taken care of it most cases."

He then went on to say, "The procedure will involve taking you down to X-ray so we can do a scan to locate the position of the kidney with you lying on your stomach. Once that is done, I will apply a local anesthetic to your back to keep you feeling as little pain as possible. Once the area is numb, I will stick a spring loaded needle into your back as you hold your breath for about thirty seconds so I can get two or three samples from your kidney. Let me warn you that the needle will make a loud clicking sound so it doesn't surprise you once I've started the procedure. It's important that you lay as still as possible until the procedure is over."

"Then what happens?" Dean questioned, needing to know what to expect afterwards.

"After the biopsy, Sam will need to lie on his back for a few hours and be monitored closely for bleeding. The nurses will monitor his blood pressure and pulse on a regular basis for the first few hours to assess for blood loss. While that is going on, I will be in the lab checking the kidney tissue samples and can hopefully get you the preliminary results within a few hours. It will take a couple of days to get the full results from the needle biopsy." John informed the hunters.

"How long will the biopsy take?" Bobby questioned wanting to know how long Sammy would be away from them, feeling that even one second would be too long in his opinion. He knew they wouldn't be able to be by his side for the procedure and hated knowing the kid would be alone, without him or Dean there to support him.

"Well, if there is anything good about the procedure having to be done, it's that it usually only takes an hour. Sam can be brought back here to recover while the nurses do their monitoring." John replied in answer to the question.

Breathing out a sigh of relief that it wouldn't take nearly as long as he thought, Sam queried, "So when do we do this?"

"Actually, the procedure is scheduled to begin in approximately ten minutes." John answered as he glanced at his watch. "Two orderlies will be here in a few minutes to take you down to x-ray. Now is there any more questions before I leave?"

"Yeah, could you uh, maybe sit down and talk with us about what's involved with dialysis after the biopsy procedure?" Bobby inquired as he gazed at the man. "I mean when Sam is feeling up to it of course."

"Sure, I'd be happy to." John answered as he patted Sam on the leg. "I'll see you in a few minutes down in x-ray." He informed the injured hunter before leaving the room.

Noticing how pale his brother seemed to be, Dean grasped his baby brother's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Don't worry Sammy, this biopsy will be over before you know it and Bobby and I will be right here waiting for you when you get back."

"Yeah, I know, I'm just a little nervous is all." Sam told his brother before chewing on his bottom lip with nervousness just before the two orderlies entered the room.

"You guys mind if we walk with you?" Dean inquired as he watched the men raise the safety bars on Sam's bed hoping it would help to dispel a little of the nervousness Sam was feeling.

"Nah, whatever you want." Trey, the tall orderly answered as he unlocked the brakes to Sam's bed. He could tell from the look on the blonde man's face that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Navigating the hospital bed through the doorway, they pushed Sam down to the x-ray lab where he was quickly ushered inside so the procedure could start.

Standing outside the door, Dean couldn't help but feel anxious wondering if Sam was doing okay in there and if he was feeling any pain. He wished the door had a small window on it where he could look into the room to make sure his baby brother was okay and so that they could make eye contact with each other. "It will only be an hour, just an hour." He whispered as he tried to calm himself. But hell, it would be one of the longest hours of his life.

**TBC**


	15. Chapter 15

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 15**

Author's Note: **A heartfelt thanks to Maxandkiz** for the wonderful idea and information she game for this chapter and her. Couldn't have done it without you my friend.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously**_**: **__Standing outside the door, Dean couldn't help but feel anxious wondering if Sam was doing okay in there and if he was feeling any pain. He wished the door had a small window on it where he could look into the room to make sure his baby brother was okay and so that they could make eye contact with each other. "It will only be an hour, just an hour." He whispered as he tried to calm himself. But hell, it would be one of the longest hours of his life._

Once Sam had been hooked up to the machine that would do the CT scan, Dr. John Kelly applied some lidocaine to his back to numb the area where he planned to insert the needle. He could feel his patient tense up and knew he needed to calm him so that the biopsy would go smoothly. "Sam, I want you to try and relax for me. I know you're nervous but I've done this procedure many times before, there's nothing to worry about."

"Sorry doc, I can't help it. Hospitals have always freaked me out a little." Sam admitted trying his best to relax. He hated needles to begin with, but knowing that it was a long spring loaded needle the doc would be using made it even worse. Sure, he had been on the receiving end of stitches a few times, but it was his brother or his dad wielding the needle and he knew they would do their best not to hurt him.

"I could give you a little something to relax you if you'd like, just to help mellow you out a little." John informed his patient giving him the option of being medicated into a more relaxed state.

"No thanks, I'd just like to get this over with." Sam replied as he took some deep breathes like his dad has always taught them to do when they were anxious on a hunt.

"Okay, then let's get this procedure started." Dr. Kelly stated to his team as he picked up the specialized instrument that would be used to do the biopsy. Turning his attention to the image that was being emitted from the CT scan, he picked up the locating needle and inserted it through the skin. Once he had located the proper are for the biopsy of Sam's kidney, he said, "Sam, I need you to hold your breath for me for about thirty seconds while I collect the tissue." Picking up the spring loaded needle mechanism, he had just taken the first tissue sample with the needle making a loud click when the registered nurse who was monitoring Sam's blood pressure alerted him to trouble.

"John we have a problem here." Nurse Vonnie stated as she noticed a sudden drop in her patient's blood pressure just before the monitor started blaring a warning. She knew the sudden drop could have consequences on the procedure being performed so she alerted the doctor right away.

Even though the pain was minimal, Sam could still feel the needle being inserted into his back and it gave him an uneasy feeling. _"Damn, I wish Dean was in here." _He thought as he chewed on his bottom lip trying to quench the weird sensation he could feel beginning in the pit of his stomach. He was becoming nauseous not to mention lightheaded and he had an uncomfortable feeling fluttering in his heart. Looking over at the monitor, he watched as the numbers on the monitor dipped under the red line and heard the warning began to blare loudly just before his vision tunneled and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Standing outside the x-ray room, Bobby was surprised that Dean hadn't worn a groove in the floor from the pacing he had done back and forth. Sam had only been in the room for fifteen minutes and Dean was already the proverbial nervous wreck.

"Dean, would you please calm down before you worry yourself into a panic attack or something." Bobby stated gruffly trying to get Dean's mind focused on something else other than what was happening behind the closed door. The last thing he needed was two sick Winchesters on his hands.

"How can I Bobby? Sammy is in there all alone and who knows what is happening." Dean retorted as he stopped his pacing long enough to talk with the hunter who had done so much for them throughout their lives. "This is driving me nuts man."

"Dean, I know you're worried, But John is an excellent doctor and he's gotten Sam through every medical crisis so far. I'm sure he's probably done hundreds of these procedures so it will be a routine job for him. Just try to sit down and relax for a few minutes." Bobby iterated softly as he patted the chair beside him.

"I know you're probably right Bobby, but I just can't shake the feeling that something is going to happen to Sammy and I won't be in there to help him through it." Dean voiced anxiously as he chewed on his bottom lip and looked towards the closed door…the barrier that was keeping him from his baby brother. He couldn't stand the thought of Sammy being scared and in pain and nobody there but strangers to support him.

Hearing those words from Dean left Bobby speechless, not knowing what to say. They all knew how uncanny Dean's feelings were when it came to his younger brother and that he was right ninety-nine percent of the time. Running a hand through the rough hairs of the beard on his chin, Bobby wished John were there to help his boys through this trying time. "Dean…" He started to say just as they heard the blaring sound coming from the other side of the door in which Sammy was now having the biopsy done.

"Damn it, I knew it." Dean stated as he started walking quickly towards the door, determined to get inside and find out what was happening. Just as his hand reached for the door, he found himself enveloped in strong arms.

Knowing that Dean was about to barge in the middle of a medical crisis involving Sam, Bobby quickly wrapped his arms around the distressed brother and pulled him away from the door.

"Bobby, what the hell?" Dean grumbled as he tried to get lose from the tight grip that Bobby held on him.

"Calm down boy. The doctors need to focus on Sammy right now. They don't need you rushing in there and keeping them from concentrating on your brother so just cool it." Bobby ordered keeping a firm hold on Dean waiting for him to calm down. He couldn't blame Dean for wanting to get in there. Hell, he was feeling distraught himself after hearing the alarm go off.

Knowing that Bobby was right, Dean sagged into the hunter's arms as he gave up the fight to get lose. Allowing Bobby to pull him over to the area where the chairs were, he sank down into one of them and placed his head into his hands. He tensed a moment later, when a felt a hand placed on the nape of his neck.

"S'gonna be alright Ace, ya just got to have faith." Bobby stated soothingly as he began to massage the tense muscles in the young hunter's neck.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

"Son of a bitch." John called out as his patient loss consciousness. He knew his patient was suffering from vagal response due to how quickly his heart rate and blood pressure had dropped. "Get me a vial of atropine stat." Upon receiving the drug, he administered it quickly into Sam's I.V. and held his breath waiting to see if the small dosage would work in restoring his patient's heart rate. "Come on kid." He prodded as he watched the monitor. If anything happened to his patient, he knew the older brother would have his head on a silver platter.

Breathing a sigh of relief as the atropine went to work and Sam's blood pressure started rising, John watched as his young patient started becoming aware once again. Seeing the dazed and questioning look in his patient's eyes, he said, "You're okay Sam, just relax. You had a bad reaction to the needle going into your kidney." He wasn't worried as he watched Sam's eyes close once again. A vagal response always left the person was experiencing it feeling drained for the rest of the day.

Quickly taking the last two tissue samples while his patient was out of it and unaware of the procedure going on, he placed the samples into a sterile dish to be examined later and then placed a pressurized bandage on the insertion area to stop the bleeding. Transferring the patient back to the portable bed to be moved to his room, John and the orderlies made sure he was placed on his back. Writing up an order for Sam to have his blood pressure and pulse rate monitored every few minutes for the next couple of hours, he made sure to make a note that he also wanted Sam monitored for blood loss just in case. Pushing the door to the x-ray lab open, he had no sooner walked out the door when he was approached by Sam's brother and uncle, both looking more than a little worried.

"Doc, what the hell just happened in there?" Dean questioned anxiously as he watched them pushing Sam out of the room on the hospital bed, his face deathly pale and his eyes closed.

"Sam had an unexpected reaction to the first tissue sample being taken." Dr. John Kelly answered as he started walking alongside his patient, with Dean and Bobby following. "He had what we cal a vagal response to the needle entering his back. Basically what happened is that his vagas nerve reacted to the foreign intrusion and he experienced a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure causing him to pass out."

"Damn." Dean whispered as he reached over to grasp Sam's hand that was lying limp on the bed.

"We were able to get his heart rate and BP regulated once again with an injection of atropine and was able to finish the procedure without another incident." John went on to say. "The episode will leave Sam feeling drained and out of it for most of the day, but I can promise you that he will be alright."

"Thanks doc, for taking care of the kid for us." Bobby intoned with a smile as they reached Sam's room and his bed was wheeled into place once again.

"You're more than welcome. The nurses will be coming in on a regular basis for the next few hours to monitor Sam's pulse and blood pressure. It's standard operating procedure with kidney biopsies so don't let it alarm you." John informed his patient's family before leaving them alone once again.

Snagging a chair with his foot, Dean pulled it over beside his brother's bed. Reaching out to card his fingers through Sam's hair, he watched as Sam's eyes opened to mere slits. "You're gonna be okay kiddo, Get some rest, we'll be right here waiting for you when you wake up." Dean said in a calm voice, a smile encompassing his face. Watching as Sam's eyes closed again, he kept up the comforting motion of running his fingers through Sam's hair, not knowing if it was more to comfort Sammy or himself.

Standing guard over the two boys, Bobby wandered what the future would hold for them. He knew that things could get really serious if the kid required a kidney transplant since there was a good chance his body would reject the new kidney._ "Please let dialysis be enough." _He prayed silently knowing that if they lost the youngest Winchester, the older one would soon surely follow.

**TBC**


	16. Chapter 16

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 16**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_Standing guard over the two boys, Bobby wandered what the future would hold for them. He knew that things could get really serious if Sam required a kidney transplant since there was a good chance his body would reject the new kidney. "Please let dialysis be enough." He prayed silently knowing that if they lost the youngest Winchester, the older one would soon surely follow._

As Sam slowly started the process of waking a few hours later, he was surprised to find a familiar hand gripping one of his own. Not only that, but he could also feel the comforting tug of fingers gently gliding through his hair. Allowing the relaxing motion to continue for a few minutes more, he shifted slightly with a moan to let Dean know he was starting to awaken. He knew his brother would be beyond embarrassed to be caught in a chick flick motion.

"Sammy?" Dean questioned as he quickly released Sam's hand but unconsciously kept his fingers carding through his baby brother's hair.

"De'n wha' happened?" Sam questioned groggily as he opened his eyes to see the concerned look upon his brother's face.

"You passed out during the biopsy princess, damn near gave the doctor a heart attack." Dean stated with a smile now that his baby brother was finally awake enough to talk.

"M"not a princess." Sam pouted with a slight cough, his dry throat making itself known. Trying to push himself up, he winced at the discomfort it caused in his back.

"Take it easy tiger, let me help you." Bobby stated as he walked over towards the bed and helped Sam to sit up, making sure to place a few pillows behind his back for support as Dean moved to get Sam something to drink.

Grabbing the small pitcher of water from the dresser at Sam's bedside, Dean poured Sammy a cup and then placed the straw near his brother's lips. "Drink it slowly." He ordered, not wanting his baby brother to get sick from drinking too quickly.

Taking a few sips, Sam sighed from the relief it gave him as he moved his mouth away from the straw. "Thanks Dean" He said, grateful for the help.

"Anytime kiddo." Dean replied as he brushed the sweaty bangs back from Sammy's eyes with a soft touch of his hand. Suddenly remembering the terror he felt when he heard the alarms going off during the biopsy, he said, "You gave us a pretty good scare tiger, don't do that again." Dean iterated referring to himself and Bobby.

"Sorry," Sam apologized turning on the puppy dog eyes full force. He felt guilty knowing how much the hunters had been put through lately because of him and his penchant for getting hurt.

"S'okay Sam, and stop blaming yourself for things that are beyond your control. Shit happens kiddo, we deal with it and move on" Bobby informed Sam with a smile as he patted the youngest Winchester on the leg. "So tell us, how are you feeling kid?"

"I'm a little sore." Sam admitted a he shifted on the bed once more. Seeing Dean reach for the nurse call button, he immediately stopped his brother. "Dean, please don't. I'm tired of being doped up all the time." Sam pleaded as tears began to film his eyes.

"Okay Sammy, but if the pain gets too bad, you're taking something whether you want to or not." Dean relented after hearing what Sammy had to say. He knew how much Sam hated being medicated to the point of being unable to hold a decent conversation. And honestly, he hated to see Sammy that way himself.

"Agreed." Sam immediately replied with a yawn knowing how lucky he was to get Dean to make the concession, especially since he was in mother hen mode. His eyes were beginning to droop once again and it ticked him off that he couldn't seem to stay awake for more than five or ten minutes at a time.

Seeing how fatigued his brother still was, Dean began to softly hum as he carded his fingers through Sammy's hair. It didn't take long for his brothers eyes to completely close as he surrendered to the sandman and he smiled at knowing he still had what it took to soothe Sam into sleep, even as an adult.

Bobby smiled as he watched the interaction between the two brothers. It warmed his heart to see how easily Dean was able to take his brothers pain away just by a comforting touch and the soothing sound of his voice. Glancing out the small window in the room, he could see that night was beginning to fall and he wondered what tomorrow would bring and hoped they would be ready to face whatever it was. One thing was for damn sure, he would be there for the brothers no matter what trials they would face in the coming months.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Early the next morning after getting the results of the biopsy, John scanned the information, made a phone call to the Sioux City Dialysis Center, and then made the long walk up to his patient's room to deliver the news he fervently wished he wouldn't have to. Pushing open the door, he saw the three men inside engrossed in a conversation which had the two youngest laughing at whatever was being said. "Hope I'm not disrupting anything." John said brightly as he walked over to stand beside Sam's bed.

"Nah, Bobby was just telling us about some of the shenanigans we had pulled as kids at his place." Dean answered as he gave the chart in the doctor's hands a wary glance.

"Doc, is that the uh, test results you're holding in your hand?" Sam questioned a little shakily as he chewed on his bottom lip with nervous apprehension.

"Yes it is." The doc answered with a sad smile knowing what he would soon have to say to the small family standing before him.

"And what do the results have to say?" Dean questioned as he grasped Sam's hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

Turning his full attention to Sam, the doctor said, "The biopsy has shown that the creatinine levels in your body have risen above nine hundred which is much too high. I'm sorry Sam, but even with a dietary change and medication, you're kidneys would still be unable to do their job properly"

"That means I have to have dialysis doesn't it?" Sam queried, already knowing the answer.

"Yes Sam, I'm afraid it does. Without it, your health will begin to deteriorate very rapidly. It's the only way of removing the waste products from your blood and to neutralize the acid that is building up inside your body."

"How long will he have to have the dialysis?" Dean asked knowing his brother was a little too shaken up at the moment to think straight, let alone ask any questions. Hell, his mind was spinning too just thinking about it.

"I really can't answer that question Dean. It all depends on how well Sam's body reacts to the dialysis and the amount of time it takes for his kidneys to heal. I can tell you that he will have to go through the process at least three times a week until his kidney is able to function properly on it's own once again.

"So doc, what exactly is involved in this dialysis process? What can we expect once Sam starts the treatments?" Bobby inquired with a dire need to understand just what Sammy would be going through so he would know how to help the brothers get through what was bound to be a trying time.

"Well, Sam will be going through a process called Haemodialysis. Basically it is a process by which excess waste products and water are removed from his blood which is drawn through a special vein in the forearm known as the arterio-fistula into a dialysis solution. In layman's terms, his blood will flow through some plastic tubing to the dialyser which is where the diffusion takes place and the waste products are extracted from Sam's blood before it is pumped back into his body again." Dr. John Kelly answered as best he could.

"When you mentioned dialysis earlier, you said that maybe Sam could do it on an out patient basis, is that still the case?" Bobby queried.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I have already faxed the results of Sam's biopsy to the Sioux City Dialysis Center and they have set up his first appointment for a week from today." John replied.

Bobby was grateful that the doctor had remembered his request to take Sam back to his place to recuperate during the treatments if they became necessary. He didn't want Sam having to go back to an impersonal motel room once the treatments started knowing how depressing that would be for the youngest Winchester. "Thanks Doc. So when can we get the kid out of here?"

"Yeah, I'd like the answer to that myself." Dean piped up in a hopeful voice upon hearing Bobby ask the question.

"Barring anymore unforeseen complications, Sam could be released within the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours. I want to do one more lung scan to make sure his lungs are still doing well, and I want to see him up and moving to make sure his body can handle the stress of being mobile once again."

"Ya hear that Sammy, you could be out of here within the next three days." Dean stated encouragingly as he ruffled his brothers hair. Sam had been somber since hearing the news and he was hoping the news would cheer him up a little.

"Yeah, S'great Dean." Sam replied with a small smile as he fiddled with the sheet covering his lower body.

"Sammy, I know you were secretly hoping that the biopsy results would be more positive and that you wouldn't require dialysis, hell I was too kiddo. But you're not alone in this tiger and you never will be. Bobby and I will be there for you all the way." Dean said pulling his baby brother in for a hug. For once he didn't care that he had initiated a chick flick moment and that Bobby, as well as the doc, had witnessed it. Sammy needed it and that was all that mattered.

"He's right Sammy. You don't have to face this alone son." Bobby said with tears in his eyes as he watched some of the fear melt from Sam's face as he was embraced by his brother. "As long as Dean or I have anything to say about it, you'll never be alone kiddo."

Not wanting to intrude on the family moment, John quickly checked the readout on Sam's monitor and then quietly exited the room. With the support of his family, he knew that Sam would make it through the coming months.

**TBC **_**I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter. It just didn't seem to flow right, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 17**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Sammy, I know you were secretly hoping that the biopsy results would be more positive and that you wouldn't require dialysis, hell I was too kiddo. But you're not alone in this tiger and you never will be. Bobby and I will be there for you all the way." Dean said pulling his baby brother in for a hug. For once he didn't care that he had initiated a chick flick moment and that Bobby, as well as the doc, had witnessed it. Sammy needed it and that was all that mattered._

Forty eight hours later found Sam sitting on the edge of his hospital bed fully dressed with Dean and Bobby standing beside him as they waited for Dr. Kelly to return with his release papers so they could make their way to Bobby's. Sam couldn't believe he was finally getting out of the hospital. He couldn't wait to climb into the Impala and revel in the feeling of being home again, well as close to home as he had ever been.

Standing up as the doc entered the room, he groaned when he saw Nurse Janice pushing a wheel chair in behind him. "Look Doc, I'm fine, I don't need to ride in that thing." He pleaded as he signed his name on the bottom line.

"Sorry Sam, it's hospital policy. Besides, you haven't been on your feet all that long you know. You'll get tired more easily than you think you will." John informed his patient as he clasped him on the shoulder. "Here is a prescription for the medicines you'll need. One is for pain, and the others are to help with your kidney function until you start the dialysis. Make sure you take it easy and take the medicines as directed or things could go downhill fast."

"Don't you worry Doc, I can promise you he'll take them just as you've prescribed." Dean stated with conviction. There was no way they were taking any chances and he would personally make sure Sammy took his medication if he had to force feed them to his little brother.

Grasping Sam's arm and helping him to stand, Dean led him over to the wheelchair and guided him to sit down much to the chagrin of his brother. "Dean, I'm not a baby." Sam whined as he pulled up his feet and placed them on the foot pedals.

"Not true Sammy, you are a baby, my _baby_ brother." Dean informed Sam with a smirk as he ruffled his brother's hair affectionately. It felt so good to be able to joke with his little brother once again. He knew they had some tough times ahead yet to face, but as long as they were together, then they would overcome any obstacle in their way. Following the nurse as she walked out the door with a huge smile on his face, Dean couldn't wait to be on the road again.

Taking the time to stop by the hospital pharmacy to get the prescription filled, Dean paid for the medication and then they were on their way once again. Having given the Impala keys to Bobby while they waited for the prescriptions to be filled, Bobby had the car waiting for them at the curb when they exited the hospital as he leaned against it waiting.

"Here let me help you tiger." Bobby stated as he helped Sammy into the passenger side while Dean slid across the hood and climbed in behind the wheel. Once he had Sammy set, he tousled the kid's hair before looking over at Dean. I'll get my truck and follow you boys." He said before closing Sam's door and jogging to spot where his truck was parked.

Glancing over at his brother, Dean gave him a light pat on the knee. "What do you say we hit the road sasquatch?" He said with a huge smile as he pulled out of the parking lot, glancing in the rearview mirror to see Bobby doing the same. He couldn't be happier than being behind the wheel of his girl with his brother riding shotgun right there beside him.

They had only been on the road for a few hours headed towards Bobby's, but Dean could see the toll that it was taking on his brother. Sam had been rather quiet most of the ride, and even though he tried to hide it, Dean could tell he was in pain from the sweat lining his brows and the pained winces that he was trying to hide whenever he moved. Spotting a sign for a Days Inn five miles down the road, Dean decided it was time to stop for the night. Arriving at the exit indicated on the sign, he put on the turn signal and pulled onto the exit ramp.

"Uh Dean, what are you doing?" Sam questioned as he gave his brother a quizzical look.

"What's it look like dude? We're stopping for the night." Dean answered with a smirk as he made the right turn into the parking lot of the motel.

"Dean, it's not even dark yet, we could still get in another hundred miles or so before we need to stop for the night." Sam informed his brother.

"Not this time Sammy. The doc said for you to take it easy and that's just what we're going to do. Don't think I can't tell that the stress of riding is already getting to you kiddo." Dean retorted as he pulled up to the reception office so he could get them a room for the night.

"But Dean, I could just stretch out in the back, go to sleep there if I need to rest." Sam stated as he gave Dean a pleading look. He knew Dean couldn't have much money since he'd spent all of his time at the hospital with him and most of their credit cards had been maxed out already.

"Not gonna happen Sam, so just deal with it while I go get us a room." Dean told his brother as he pushed open the door to find Bobby standing there, concern evident on his face.

"Dean, is Sam alright?" Bobby questioned as he gazed into the car to see the youngest Winchester slouched down in the seat with an actual honest to goodness pout on his face.

"Yeah, the ride is starting to get to him though, even though the princess won't admit it." Dean stated as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was feeling a little achy himself after having sat so long.

"I'll go get us a couple of rooms, you stay here with Sam." Bobby said as he walked away not giving Dean the chance to argue with him. He was gone approximately ten minutes when he returned with two sets of key cards. "We're in rooms 28 and 29." Bobby informed Dean as he tossed him one of the cards. I got us adjoining rooms just in case."

Dean smiled as he caught the card one handed. Bobby had become like a father to them ever since their own dad had died and the gruff hunter took that responsibility seriously. Reaching in to help Sam out of the car, he shuffled along beside his brother as Sam made slow progress towards the door. Swiping the key card to unlock the door, he held it open for Sam to walk in before entering the room himself. "Why don't you get some rest kiddo, I'll get our things out of the car." Dean said as he helped Sam to walk over and sit on the bed furthest from the door. He could tell Sam was exhausted even though the kid was doing his best to hide it.

"M'kay." Sam replied with a mumble as he shucked his jacket and tossed it on the floor before curling up on the bed, asleep before his head ever hit the pillow.

"Damn kiddo, you look exactly the way you did when you were four years old." Dean barely whispered aloud at the sight of Sam lying on his side with his knees pulled up, hands clasped together and resting under his cheek. Kneeling quietly beside the bed, he untied his brothers shoes and pulled them off before grabbing the comforter from his own bed and tossing it over his sleeping sibling. Grabbing Sam's jacket and hanging it up, he watched Sammy for just a few minutes to make sure he stayed asleep before gently opening the door and leaving the room just long enough to get their things from the Impala. Returning to the room moments later, he found Bobby sitting silently in a chair as he watched Sammy sleeping. "Bobby?" He questioned, surprised to see the hunter sitting there.

"I was going to call in a pizza or something for dinner. Thought I'd check with you boys first to see if you wanted anything." Bobby voiced at a low level so as not to wake the sleeping Winchester.

"Pizza sounds good, you might want to get Sam a salad or a chicken sandwich though, I'm not sure his stomach is up to handling anything spicy yet." Dean replied as he searched through his duffle for his razor kit and some clean clothing. "Uh, Bobby? Would you mind sitting with Sam while I take a shower?" Dean inquired, not wanting to leave his brother alone for any length of time.

"Sure thing, take all the time you need Ace." Bobby answered as picked up the phone to call the local pizza place to order a large pizza with all of the fixings and a chicken sandwich for Sammy. It sure was going to feel good eating a meal outside of the hospital for a change.

Once he had the food ordered, Bobby decided to use Sam's laptop to do a search on what to expect when starting dialysis. He didn't want Sam to be overwhelmed on his first visit to the treatment center. Finding the information on the procedure for hemodialysis, Bobby mentally noted everything that would happen during Sam's visit so he could explain things in detail to the brothers once they got back to his place and Sam was feeling more comfortable.

Hearing a knock at the door just as the shower turned off, Bobby glanced through the small viewer in the door to see the pizza boy standing there. Pulling his wallet from the back of his jeans as he opened the door, he asked "How much do I owe you?" Giving the delivery boy the payment with a generous tip added, he closed the door and placed their dinner on the table just as Dean came out of the bathroom looking clean shaven once again.

Wishing he had some beer to go with the food, Bobby looked at Dean and said, "Fix yourself a plate Ace, I'll be back in a few minutes with some drinks." Walking down to the drink machine, Bobby bought a couple of drinks for himself and Dean and a health drink for Sammy since the kid needed all the nutritious stuff he could get with what he would soon be facing. Returning with the drinks, he placed the one for Sammy in the small refrigerator before sitting down at the table where Dean was now gorging on his third piece of pizza. "Hope you saved some for me boy." Bobby smirked at seeing a third of the pizza now gone.

Carrying on a quiet conversation at they ate, both hunters couldn't help but glance every so often over at the bed to the person sleeping there, each secretly wishing that they could take Sammy's place. Once they had finished their meal, both hunters decided to retire for the night knowing they would have a long drive ahead of them in the morning.

**TBC **_**I know, not much happening with this filler chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 17**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One**

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_Carrying on a quiet conversation at they ate, both hunters couldn't help but glance every so often over at the bed to the person sleeping there, each secretly wishing that they could take Sammy's place. Once they had finished their meal, both hunters decided to retire for the night knowing they would have a long drive ahead of them in the morning. _

Awaking early the next morning, Bobby decided to make a breakfast run for himself and the boys so that they would only have to stop for fuel and a possible snack on the way to his place. Picking up some sausage and egg sandwiches for him and Dean, he decided on a lighter breakfast of an English muffin for the youngest Winchester. He knew Sammy had to be careful about his potassium and sodium intake now with him requiring dialysis. Ordering the drinks, he ordered a child size iced tea for the three of them since Sam also had to restrict his fluid intake now.

Arriving back at the room nearly twenty minutes later, Bobby found Dean sitting up against the headboard of his bed watching television and Sammy no where to be seen. "Thought I would get us some breakfast before we hit the road, where's your brother?" Bobby inquired as he tossed one of the breakfast bags to Dean.

"He's taking a bath. I was afraid that a shower would be too much for him since he hasn't been out of the hospital all that long." Dean answered as he opened the bag and grinned upon seeing the sausage and egg biscuits. "Hope you brought some coffee too." Dean stated as he unwrapped one of the sandwiches and started munching on it.

"Sorry Dean, but coffee isn't one of the beverages that was mentioned as being good for Sam to drink, but here's an iced tea for ya." Bobby said as he handed over the small cup of liquid.

"Jeez, that's wonderful." Dean stated sarcastically as he raised an eyebrow at the size of the cup.

"Sam's got to limit his fluid intake also. I didn't want the kid to feel bad by watching us drinking to our heart's content. Just didn't think it would be fair ya know." Bobby explained with a tight smile.

"Yeah, guess you're right." Dean replied just before shoving the rest of his sausage and egg sandwich into his mouth.

"Right about what?" Sam questioned as he walked out of the bathroom, drying his wet hair with one of the white towels provided by the motel.

"That you need to eat something before we hit the road." Bobby replied as he motioned for Sam to sit at the table where his breakfast was waiting on him.

"Uh Bobby, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a grown man now." Sam informed the hunter as he motioned towards the child sized drink.

"You'll always be a kid to me Tiger." Bobby retorted as he ruffled Sam's wet hair affectionately. "While I was researching last night, I found out that you have to limit your fluid intake, so I got us the small drinks." Bobby explained as he sat down in front of Sam.

"So uh, what else did your research say?" Sam questioned as he opened his sandwich and took a small bite, not sure if he actually wanted to hear the answer.

"Well for starters, we have to be careful about your sodium, phosphorous, and potassium intake. As a result, bacon, cheese and sausage are out for you. You can have some meat, but we have to be careful about how much and what kind. And definitely no more adding salt to your food, that's a definite taboo for you. Fountain drinks are acceptable as long as you keep them down to a child size." Bobby informed Sam as he shook out one of the phosphorous binders from Sam's medication bottle and handed it over.

Swallowing down the pill, Sam sighed at all the changes that would have to be made while he was on dialysis. Knowing that it wouldn't be right to force Bobby and Dean to change things because of him, Sam hung his head feeling somewhat depressed and said, "I'm sorry you guys, you shouldn't have to worry about all the hassle and burden that comes with my having dialysis. I can stay at the center when we get there so you don' have to worry about me."

"Now hold it right there Sammy, you can just stop that line of thinking right now. You are most definitely not a burden and it's my job, to take care of you." Dean said as he tossed the television remote on the bed and walked over to sit in the chair across from Sammy's.

"But Dean…"

"No Sam, you're staying with me and Bobby and that's final." Dean stated firmly as he grasped Sam by the chin and lifted his head forcing Sammy to look him in the eye. "I said it before and I'll say it again. You are NOT going to face this alone. Now I don't want to hear anymore of that nonsense coming out of your mouth, do you understand me?"

Nodding his head because he was unable to speak around the lump in his throat, Sam swiped away the tears in his eyes with his sleeve as he smiled at the two hunters. He didn't know what he would do without their support in the coming days and was grateful that he had such a wonderful family to support him through what was sure to be a trying time.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Later that evening found the hunter's finally pulling into Singer Salvage Yard. Dean couldn't help but notice how hard the trip had been on Sammy with the way he way he looked so pale and shaky. He could also tell that Sam had been in discomfort for the last fifty miles or so by the way he kept shifting in his seat and holding his stomach. He had offered to stop somewhere to give Sam a break, but the youngest Winchester had refused saying that he just wanted to get to Bobby's place.

Parking the car and opening the driver's side door, he climbed out of the car quickly and then walked around to help his brother. He knew Sam was hurting when his little brother didn't even attempt to get out of the car by himself. "Come on tiger, let's get you inside." Dean softly voiced as he helped Sam to shift around and get his legs out of the car. Pulling Sam to his feet, he heard his brother whimper softly. "Sammy?" he questioned with concern evident in his voice.

"M'okay Dean, just a little sore is all." Sam answered as he started walking towards the steps.

"I know there's something else, what aren't you telling me Sam?" Dean prodded as they took their time going up the steps with Bobby helping to support Sam on the other side.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Sam debated on whether or not to tell Dean and Bobby he had experienced trouble with using the bathroom today. He felt like he really needed to go, but his body just wouldn't cooperate with him. He felt self conscious enough as it was without having to actually share the information with others.

"Sammy?, come on dude, what aren't you telling me." Dean queried a little anxious over the fact that Sam wasn't talking.

"Look Sam, whatever it is, you can tell us." Bobby informed the youngest Winchester. "With everything you're going through right now, we need to know if something is wrong with ya tiger." Unlocking the door, Bobby held it open for both Winchesters to enter the house.

"Um, well, I sort of…" Sam stuttered out as his cheeks began to tinge a bright pink as the hunters helped him to sit down on the sofa and rest a few minutes before attempting to make it up to their room.

"Sam, are you having trouble urinating?" Bobby questioned outright to make things easier on the kid. He had read in his research that some renal patients experienced trouble getting rid of their bodily fluids. He had noticed that Sam never asked to stop once to use the bathroom on their trip back to his place

Nodding his head, Sam chewed on his fingernails nervously, not wanting to look at the others. He knew his cheeks had to be a bright red with the way they were burning with embarrassment.

"Grasping his knee and giving it a firm squeeze, Bobby said, "Sam, you have nothing to be embarrassed about son. It's to be expected with kidney problems and I wish you would have said something earlier. You have some meds to help with that problem kiddo." Reaching into the bag that was holding Sam's medicines, Bobby pulled out the bottle of urecholine. Opening the bottle, he shook out the recommended dosage and handed it over. "This will help Tiger."

Taking the medication and popping it in his mouth, Sam swallowed it down with the small glass of water that Dean now offered. "Thanks guys." He said with a yawn.

"That should go to work in about an hour or so Sam, why don't you lay down and take a nap until then." Dean encouraged as he swung Sam's legs up onto the sofa and helped his brother to stretch out and lay down. Sitting on the floor, he started carding his fingers through his brother's hair knowing how it would help ease Sam into sleep.

Grasping a pillow, Bobby placed it under Sam's head and then threw a blanket over him from the hallway closet. "Sleep well kiddo." He whispered as he walked towards the kitchen to see what he had in his freezer to prepare for their evening meal.

Once he was sure that Sam was asleep with deep and even breaths, Dean eased himself up quietly off the floor and walked to the kitchen to where Bobby was in the process of thawing out some chicken for their evening meal. Sam would soon be starting dialysis so he would need a little extra protein in his diet to help with the protein lost during treatment. Bobby made sure to remove the skin however to make sure there was the least amount of sodium possible. Using some spices that were renal friendly, Bobby prepared the chicken and then put it in the oven to bake.

"Need any help Bobby?" Dean asked as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer. He'd make sure to drink one only when Sam wasn't around since his brother couldn't drink the beverage right now. Opening the bottle and taking a large swallow, he hoped the ice cold liquid would help to soothe his nerves some. He was doing his best to remain calm, to keep Sam from knowing how much the thought of dialysis was scaring the hell out of him but sometimes he just wanted to shout and scream, "Why Sam? Why did it have to be his brother that had to deal with the procedure.?"

"Nah, I'm fine Ace. Why don't you go and get some rest, you're looking kind of exhausted yourself." Bobby stated as he noticed the lines of worry that seemed to be have set up permanent residence around Dean's eyes.

Taking a few moments to finish his beer, Dean decided to take Bobby's advice and get some sleep. But instead of going upstairs where a soft bed awaited him, he grabbed another pillow from the hallway closet and curled up on the floor in front of Sammy. He wanted to be within hearing distance if his brother needed him.

**TBC **


	19. Chapter 19

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 18**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One**

**Author's Note: **Please overlook any glaring errors with the treatment Sam will be taking. I am getting my information from the internet since I have no medical knowledge whatsoever.

**Author's Note 2: **We have a new writer in the Supernatural fandom. Her name is **Little Miss Bump **and she has a wonderful story up called **A Recipe for Disaster. **I think you'll really enjoy her story if you give it a try.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_Taking a few moments to finish his beer, Dean decided to take Bobby's advice and get some sleep. But instead of going upstairs where a soft bed awaited him, he grabbed another pillow from the hallway closet and curled up on the floor in front of Sammy. He wanted to be within hearing distance if his brother needed him._

After preparing a meal of oven baked chicken with diced potatoes and a side serving of green beans, Bobby placed the food on the table before going to get the boys. Walking into the living room, he couldn't help the huge grin that leapt to his face upon seeing both boys resting so peacefully with Dean sleeping on the floor by his brother. He should have known that the older wouldn't stay more than five paces away from his baby brother. Knowing he wouldn't have this opportunity again, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and snapped a picture_. "Dean would be so pissed if he knew I took this one." _Bobby thought to himself as he hit the button to save the picture.

Storing his phone back in his pocket to hide the evidence, Bobby kneeled down and patted Dean on the knee. "Up and at it Ace, your dinner is getting cold." Bobby stated as he tugged on Dean's foot to make sure he wasn't ignored.

"Okay, Okay, I'm up." Dean groaned as he sat up with glazed eyes and raised a hand to the back of his neck to massage out the kinks from having slept on the floor. Yawning a couple of times, he pushed himself to his feet and then placed his pillow and blanket back into the closet. He wasn't taking any chances with Sammy tripping on them and hurting himself. Seeing Bobby re-enter the kitchen, he knew it was left up to him to wake his brother.

Returning to where his brother now lay, Dean thought about letting Sammy sleep since he obviously needed it by the looks of those raccoon rings that circled around his eyes, but decided against it. Sam would need his strength in the coming days to deal with the dialysis treatments. To build that strength, he was going to have to eat some healthy meals. Bending down on one knee, he tugged his fingers lightly through Sammy's hair. "Time to wake up from your beauty nap princess." He said in a sing song voice.

"Le've me 'lone" Sam mumbled out as he snuggled under the blanket and got comfortable once again.

"Sorry, no can do kiddo. Now wake your ass up because you definitely aren't Sleeping Beauty and I sure ain't the prince who's gonna kiss ya awake." Dean advised his brother as he grasped the blanket and pulled it away from his brother.

"Deeean." Sam whined as he opened his eyes to glare at the brother who was disrupting his sleep.

"Sorry Sam, but you've got to eat bro otherwise you're going to be too weak for the dialysis treatments." Dean stated as he offered out a hand to help Sammy up.

Accepting his brother's help, Sam made it to his feet and followed Dean into the kitchen and smiled upon seeing the meal Bobby had prepared. Breathing in deeply, his mouth salivated at the aroma the food was giving off. This was going to be one fantastic meal.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

_**Early the next day**_

Bobby awoke the boys early to make their morning appointment at the Sioux City Dialysis Center. It was imperative that Sam have a Cimino fistula created in one of his arms to get the dialysis treatments done. In doing so, he wouldn't need a surgical intervention to have a catheter port placed in his chest and it would allow for easier withdrawal of the blood for the hemodialysis. The surgery would be a relatively minor one and only required a day surgery to get it done. Arriving at the center early, Bobby signed Sam in and they all took a seat to await their turn.

"Sammy, try to relax dude so you don't make yourself sick." Dean coaxed as he noticed the way Sam's knees bounced in anticipation of the surgery that was to come. He was afraid that Sam would soon have a panic attack if he didn't get his anxiety under control.

"I can't help it Dean, I just…I don't know." Sam stated, his voice breaking just a little as he lowered his head and looked away.

"You worried about what they're going to do and if anything could go wrong." Dean supplied as he reached out to grasp his brother's knee.

"Yeah. I'm afraid Dean, what if things go wrong and they can't do the treatments?" Sam voiced tremulously as he chewed on his bottom lip. He knew the next step would be a transplant and he also knew that some people waited years to receive one and others died before a donor kidney became available.

"Ya gotta stop thinking like that Sam. The doctor said this facility is one of the best in the nation and the people here are experts at what they do." Dean enumerated with conviction in his voice. He hoped that his confidence of the doctor's ability would help to ease Sam's anxiousness about the situation.

Sam didn't have time to contemplate Dean's words for more than just a minute or two when his name was called to have the surgical procedure done. Glancing towards his brother before getting to his feet, Sam stood and took a few hesitant steps forward.

"S'alright if I come along?" Dean questioned of the nurse as he stood and walked over to stand beside his younger sibling. He didn't need to hear any words to know what Sammy wanted, no needed from him.

"Sure, but just until he is wheeled into surgery." The nurse answered with a smile seeing the immediate look of relief on the younger man's face. The patient's needs always came first at the center knowing that a positive outlook could actually mean the difference between surviving or succumbing to the illness.

"Bobby, you coming?" Dean queried as he looked back at hunter who was so much like a father to him and Sammy now.

"Nah, you boys need some time alone. I'll be right here." Bobby stated as reached over to the table in front of him and picked up a magazine, watching until the boys were out of sight.

As they walked to the area where the surgery would take place, the nurse talked to Sam about what would happen during the pre-op phase. "Sam, once we get to the room, there will be a phlebotomist who will come up and draw a few tubes of blood for your oxygen saturation levels, CBC's, creatinine levels, as well as some other things. Afterwards, the doctor may order some x-rays or CT scans to check the size of your kidneys. Once that is completed, the anesthesiologist will come to your room and talk with you about any concerns you might have about being anesthetized for the surgery.

Once they had reached the room that Sam would be using during recovery after the surgery, the nurse pointed to an open backed gown that lay on the hospital bed. "Sam, you need to remove all of your clothing including underwear and put on the hospital gown please. I'll be back in a few minutes to ask you some important questions before the surgery get's started."

Waiting for the door to close behind the nurse, Sam smiled nervously at his brother before starting to unbutton his shirt. He knew his brother had seen him naked numerous times lately, but it still embarrassed him having Dean there to watch him undress.

Sensing his brother's nervousness, Dean cleared his throat. "Hey Sammy, I'm going to make a trip down to the little boy's room to take care of business. I'll be back in just a minute. You need me to do anything before I go?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks dude." Sam answered with a smile, grateful that Dean was affording him a modicum of privacy.

Returning a few minutes later, Dean opened the door cautiously and peaked in. Seeing Sammy lying on the small hospital bed, he walked over and sat down beside him. "So, has the nurse returned yet?" He questioned as he smoothed out the sheet that was covering his brother from the midsection down. Sam didn't have the chance to reply as the nurse chose that very second to return holding a questionnaire in her hands.

"Sam, I need to know if you are allergic to any medications and whether or not you have ever had a reaction to anesthesia before?"

"Yeah, I'm allergic to penicillin and the only reaction I've ever had to anesthesia is throwing up afterwards." Sam answered as he fiddled with the sheet beneath his fingers.

"Have you taken any blood thinners such as Coumadin, Plavix, Ticlid or Effient within the last two weeks?"

"No ma'am, just the medications listed on that sheet." Sam answered as Dean pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it over.

"Next question Sam, have you smoked or drank any alcoholic beverages within the last twenty four hours?" the nurse asked which Sam answered with a resounding no. "That's good, last question…have you had a cold or the flu within the last forty eight hours or so?"

"No, nothing like that." Sam informed the nurse as she charted the information he was giving to her.

"Wonderful, the phlebotomist will be in shortly to draw blood for the required blood tests. We'll also need a urine sample from you also. You'll find the required specimen cup in the bathroom for your use." The nurse stated as she placed the chart at the bottom of Sam's bed. 'Would you like me to help you?"

"No" Sam quickly answered as his cheeks started blushing a bright red. Levering himself up off the bed, he grasped the back of his hospital gown and held it closed as he walked to the small bathroom to give the needed sample. Returning just a few moments later, he handed over the cup and climbed back into the bed.

Taking the sample, the nurse thanked her young patient and then walked out the door.

"Damn Sammy, that nurse had the hots for you kiddo. You should have let her help." Dean smirked as he lightly punched his brother's arm.

"Shut up Dean." Sam retorted with a grin knowing that Dean was trying to distract him from what was to come.

**TBC News on my nephew Kevin for those who have asked.....he is having a rough time with recovery from his surgery...fever and weakness. He may have to be readmitted to the hospital if his fever doesn't break overnight or goes higher. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Fighting to Breathe** Ch. 20

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Supernatural or anything recognizable in this story, including the motion picture Bambi…Disney Productions owns the right to that.

**Author's Note: **Please overlook any glaring errors with the treatment Sam will be taking. I am getting my information from the internet since I have no medical knowledge whatsoever.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As he sat by Sam's side waiting for his brother to wake up from the surgery, Dean couldn't help but think about how their lives were about to change in a major way. They had always led a basically nomadic life with their dad dragging them from state to state in search of hunts. But now, now they were going to have to stay in one place long enough for Sam's kidney to heal, which could take months. Scrubbing a hand across his chin at the thought, he knew just how lucky there were to have Bobby. The man was providing them a home for however long it took, and expected nothing in return from them. If it hadn't been for the old coot, Dean didn't know how they would have survived the coming months. Reaching over to brush a stray strand of hair from his brother's face, Dean said, "We're gonna be okay Sammy, just you wait and see."

"Of course ya are, I won't have it any other way." Bobby retorted as he walked into the room carrying two cups of steaming hot coffee. Handing one of the cups to Dean, he took a sip of his own, nearly scalding his tongue from the hot brew. "He showing any signs of waking up yet?"

"No, the doc said it should be anytime now though." Dean replied with a smile toward the older hunter. His words seemed prophetic as Sam chose that very moment to start moaning as he tossed his head back and forth on the bed.

"Sammy, you with me Tiger?" Dean questioned as he placed a palm on Sam's cheek, his brother immediately leaning into it.

"De'n?"

"Yeah kiddo, S'me."

"Si-sick." Sam mumbled as he felt the bile rising in his throat at an alarming pace. He felt strong hands help him sit up just as he projectile vomited all over his bed.

"Shit." Bobby gasped as he immediately raced from the room to get help.

"S'okay little brother, I've got you." Dean soothed as he supported Sam's weight as the vomit spewed forth from his mouth once again. Reaching up with his other hand, he massaged Sam's neck to try and relax him since he could now feel small tremors running through his baby brother's body. Hearing the sound of feet approaching, he looked up to see Bobby entering with a nurse right behind him.

"Oh mercy," The nurse stated as she saw the way her patient was forcefully heaving. Leaving the room for just a moment, she quickly returned with a syringe in her hand.

"Sam, I'm going to give you an injection of Phenegran to stop the nausea and vomiting." She informed her young patient as she motioned for Dean to help him lean a little more forward. Cleansing the area on his left hip with a cotton swab, she quickly plunged the needle into Sam's muscled behind and pressed the plunger. "That should go to work soon. Now if you men don't mind leaving the room for just a few minutes, I need to get our patient here cleaned up."

Returning to the room a few minutes later, Dean smirked as he saw his brother dressed in a new hospital gown. "Just had to let the nurse get ya naked didn't ya Sammy?" He queried with a wink of the eye.

"Shut up Dean" Sam softly stated as he reached up a hand to rub at his dry throat.

Walking over to the small stand by his brother's bed, Dean picked up the water pitcher and poured his brother a small glass of the cool liquid. Placing a straw in the glass, he held it up to Sam's mouth. "Here you go kiddo sip this, but drink slowly or you'll make yourself sick again."

"Thanks Dean." Sam voiced after taking a few small sips of the refreshing water. "So uh, when can I get out of here?"

"Jeez Sam, ya just threw up everything ya had in your stomach boy, give it some time." Bobby said as he rolled his eyes at Sam's eagerness to leave, thinking someday these boys would be the death of him.

"Bobby, you actually rolled your eyes dude! Dean laughed as he nudged the hunter with his elbows in jest.

"Shut yer yap Dean. I don't know why in the hell I put up with you stubborn assed Winchesters, you're too much damned trouble.

"Yeah, we love you too Bobby." Sam verbalized through a yawn, just before allowing his eyes to slide closed once again. Hw was just too tired to stay awake any longer.

"Sleep well son." Bobby whispered as he reached over and gently carded his fingers through Sam's hair with affection thinking that he couldn't love the boys more if they had been his own children.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

A few hours later found Sam released and the hunters on their way back to Singer Salvage Yard after having made a quick stop in town for Bobby to pick up a few things. Parking in front of the porch, Sam helped his brother inside while Bobby carried in the things he had bought in town. Entering the house, Bobby said, "Make yourselves comfortable there on the couch boys while I put these things away."

Watching as Dean eased Sam down on the sofa, he smiled as he thought about the surprise he had for Sam in one of his bags. He had almost blurted it out to the boys on the way home, but he wanted to make sure that Sam was up to it before he revealed what he had bought. Thinking about the small item, he could just picture what Dean's reaction would be and laughed quietly at the thought of it.

Quickly putting away some of the groceries he had bought, he grabbed a bowl and poured the bag of salt free chips he had purchased into it and then poured three glasses of Sprite to wash the chips down with. He would have preferred beer, but he didn't want to drink it in front of Sam knowing he couldn't have it. Placing the items on a tray, he carried it into the room and sat it down on the small end table beside the couch. Glancing over towards the couch, he said, "I hope you boys are up for a movie. I picked one up for us to watch while I was in town today."

"Cool, I hope you got one with some hot babes in it." Dean said in anticipation of watching some girls striding around in nothing much but a string bikini.

"Oh yeah, I got one with babes in it alright." Bobby smirked as he pulled the movie from the pocket of his jacket and held it up for all to see.

"You've got to be kidding me." Dean groaned as he looked at the front cover to see a white tailed young deer on it. "I mean seriously, Bambi?"

"Yes Bambi, and you're going to sit your ass down and watch it too. Don't think I don't remember you promising Sam that we would all sit down and watch the movie together." Bobby informed Dean as he walked over to the combination DVD/VCR player sitting on top of his television.

"But you said you had one with babes in it." Dean complained as he sat back with a pout.

"Yeah, but I didn't say what kind of babes." Bobby retorted with a laugh as he placed the DVD inside the player. Returning to the chair beside the boys, he couldn't help but notice how Sam's eyes were a little bit misty. He knew the movie held a special meaning for Sam since Dean had told him about how Sam and Jessica used to watch it together.

Settling back, the hunters watched as the movie began playing. It didn't take long for Dean to start making commentary about the animals being portrayed in the movie. "Thumper huh? Guess that's a good name for that rabbit with the way he keeps frantically tapping his foot on the ground" Dean said thinking the rabbit needed Ritalin or something, it was so hyper. Watching as the animals in the forest rushed to meet the baby fawn, he kind of felt an "Awww" moment himself but didn't dare say it aloud knowing Sam and Bobby would tease him for it.

When the part came on with the baby deer learning how to walk, Dean's mind couldn't help but drift back to the time when Sammy had learned to walk. Baby Sammy had been almost as uncoordinated as young Bambi when he stood up on his wobbly legs for the first time. He was surprised to hear the same words coming from Bambi's mother's mouth that he had used so many years ago on a toddling Sammy, "Come on, try again, you can do it."

His mind was however drawn out of his musings as he saw Bambi, who was now learning to talk, sniff some flowers and come face to face with a skunk. "Oh holy crap, look out, that thing will spray ya." Dean voiced as he leaned forward to see what the little deer would do.

Sam smirked as he noticed the way that Dean was becoming engrossed by the movie. He couldn't believe that his big brother was actually enthralled enough not to notice what he was doing. Noticing that the part with Bambi learning to talk was coming on, he couldn't wait to see what Dean had to say about the little skunk Bambi would discover in the flowers.

"Fl-flower" Dean heard Bambi proclaim proudly as he looked at the little skunk. Flabbergasted, he immediately said, "Shit, something must be wrong with that baby deer's nose if he thinks that skunk smells like a damn flower.

Soon the scene turned to one of a thunderstorm, and Dean couldn't help but take furtive glances at Sam. His little brother had been so scared of storms when he was younger and the really bad ones still bothered him even now. Seeing the way that Bambi scampered back to his mom when the lightning crashed, it reminded Dean of the way that a three year old Sammy would come running to his bed and crawl in seeking safety. "S'alright kiddo." He whispered as he chewed on his bottom lip, not realizing that he had voiced the words aloud.

As Sam heard the whispered words, he knew they had been meant for more than just Bambi, that Dean was a remembering a time back to when they were young. Anytime a storm would rage outside, he would climb out of his own bed and go over to Dean's where his big brother would always lift the blanket and allow him to snuggle in close before covering him up. Still to this day, he felt protected just knowing that Dean was nearby when it began to storm.

**TBC **_**Look for Dean's reaction to the rest of the movie in the next chapter as well as some brotherly bonding.**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 21**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural or anything recognizable in this story, including the motion picture Bambi…Disney Productions owns the right to that.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_As Sam heard the whispered words "S'alright kiddo", he knew they had been meant for more than just Bambi, that Dean was a remembering a time back to when they were young. Anytime a storm would rage outside, he would climb out of his own bed and go over to Dean's where his big brother would always lift the blanket and allow him to snuggle in close before covering him up. Still to this day, he felt protected just knowing that Dean was nearby when it began to storm._

As he continued to watch the movie, Dean was awed by the scenes that were playing out before him. He couldn't believe how much the movie reminded him of his and Sam's childhood. Watching as the animals frolicked in winter, he remembered a time when he and Sammy had been playing in the snow and their dad had actually came out to join them, but Bambi mentioning that he was cold and hungry also brought back memories of the old drafty houses his dad would rent at times during the winter when they had little money to spare. He and Sammy would have to huddle under blankets together to try and stay warm as their dad tried to whip up a dinner with what little food they had.

As Bambi's dad, the Great Prince of the Forest made his appearance on the small screen, Dean couldn't help but compare the stag to his own dad. The deer commanded attention just by making his presence known. The other animals bowed to his authority, just like he had seen people do with his dad. Chewing on his bottom lip, he felt the pang of his father's loss once again, but quickly relegated those thoughts to the back of his head since he didn't want Sammy to see him upset.

That point however became moot as Dean watched Bambi's mother fall to a hunter's gun in the lush green meadow as she encouraged the fawn to run faster once man had invaded the forest. He couldn't help but shed a tear as Bambi cried out for his mother upon reaching the thicket thinking they had both made it there safely. As Bambi called out for his mother again and again. Dean could remember doing the same just before finding out his mother had died in the fire that had consumed Sammy's nursery. He had been so traumatized by the incident that he had quit talking, only responding to baby Sammy's needs.

Sam instantly knew what was going through Dean's mind as he saw the silent tears trailing down Dean's face. He couldn't remember the day that their mom had perished in the fire since he was only six months old, but he knew the memory still haunted Dean. Sure his older brother had only been four, but he still had the memories of that terrible night so long ago. Reaching out to grasp Dean's hand, he gave it a light squeeze if only to provide a small bit of comfort. There would be no teasing words from him over this one.

Smiling at Sam to let him know he was okay, Dean swiped the tears from his cheeks and took a deep breath. Glancing over towards Bobby, he could see sympathy in the hunter's eyes and was grateful that Bobby had chosen to remain silent about his moment of weakness and allowing his feelings to show. In doing so, the gruff older hunter had spoken volumes without even saying a word about his love for the boys.

As the movie finally came to a conclusion with the big fire and the rebirth of the forest, Dean sighed as he watched Bambi becoming a father. He had secretly wished many times that Sam had been able to experience the life of normalcy that he had so desperately craved growing up, that he would marry the girl of his dreams and have two children and a house with a white picket fence. But he knew that could never be as long as demons roamed the earth. Watching as Bambi took over the reigns of Great Prince of the Forest and stood watch over his new family, Dean knew that he too would keep watch over Sam until his dying day.

"Well, I hate to admit it, but I actually enjoyed the movie." Dean said as the closing credits began to roll. "Even though it had so many of those girly scenes that Sammy is so fond of."

"Shuddup Dean." Sam voiced with a big yawn as he punched at his brother's shoulder. He should have known Dean would have something snarky to say to hide how much he had liked the movie himself.

"Okay Sam, time for you to get some rest." Dean informed Sam as he reached a hand out to pull him up upon seeing just how tired his baby brother was.

"Dean, I'm fine." Sam replied, rolling his eyes at being treated like a baby once again.

"Sure you are kiddo." Dean retorted as he pulled Sam to his feet. There was no way he was going to allow Sam to push himself when he had had surgery just a few short hours ago, even if it was just an outpatient surgery.

"You're bossy, you know that." Sam whispered as he allowed Dean to lead him to the stairs. He really could use some sleep.

"S'right kiddo." Dean uttered with a smile as he felt Sam leaning into him as they made their way up the stairs. After walking down the small hall, Dean pushed open the door to the room they always shared while staying at Bobby's and guided Sam over to the bed furthest from the door. Throwing back the blankets, he helped Sam to sit down and then kneeled to pull of his baby brothers shoes. Watching the way Sam teetered on the bed, he guided Sam to a laying down position, marveling at the way his brother was asleep before his head ever hit the bed. Knowing that Sam wouldn't sleep comfortably with the way he was dressed, Dean unsnapped his jeans and pulled them from his legs before gently covering him up.

Walking over to the door, Dean gazed at his brother for just a moment and then turned off the light. Leaving the door slightly ajar in case Sammy needed him, he returned downstairs to see if Bobby needed any help.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As the time approached for his first dialysis procedure to take place, Sam, Dean, and Bobby met with the doctors and nurses of the facility to start the preliminary assessment. The doctors needed to do a physical assessment which would help them determine the parameters that needed to be set for Sam's dialysis. After signing a consent form for the dialysis to take place, Dr. Michelle Richards started the assessment by weighing Sam and then taking his blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate. She then followed that up by doing a general checkup on Sam's fluid status and overall health before asking pertinent questions about whether or not Sam had any pain, bleeding, or bruising. She also inquired about Sam's sleep habits and whether or not he was experiencing regular bowel movements causing the youngest Winchester to blush.

After the preliminary assessment was finished, Dr. Richards then took Sam and his family on a tour of the facility so that her patient would be more comfortable once he started the dialysis process. She knew that most patients had a fear of the procedure because they didn't know what to expect. Walking the small family back to the room where the procedure would actually take place, she showed them the dialyzer and explained how it worked, even going so far as to show them how the alarm on the machine worked to prevent any major complications during treatment should something unexpected occur. Using a diagram poster that hung on the wall, she explained how the needles would be inserted to the Cimino fistula on Sam's arm and then explained how his blood would be drawn through the fistula into the dialyzer where it would be "cleaned" of waste products before being pumped back into his body.

Once she had completed the tour and they had all returned to the doctor's office, Dean asked, "So when will Sammy start his treatment and will there be side effects that we need to know about?"

"I have set Sam's first treatment for tomorrow morning at nine o'clock." Dr. Richards answered knowing they needed to get the first treatment started as soon as possible. Each day they waited put Sam in more danger of going into total organ failure where he would require a kidney transplant and they wanted to avoid that at all costs.

"As for the side effects, they can differ from person to person. Our main concern will be during this initial treatment. We'll have to watch Sam for hypotension as well as nausea and shortness of breath. There is also an increased chance of Sam suffering from an arrhythmia, but I can promise you that he will be monitored very closely for any signs of heart trouble. We'll have medications on standby to handle any complications that could arise during treatment. Are they any other questions?"

"Can I go in with Sammy when he has his treatment?" Dean asked nervously as he chewed on his bottom lip. He didn't want Sam to be alone during his initial treatment knowing that Sam would most likely be terrified.

"Yes you can, but you'll have to wear some sterile gear to keep the room as sanitary as possible for your brother."

"I can handle that." Dean stated immediately. He would do anything as long as it meant he could be by Sammy's side when the dialysis occurred.

"I've got a question for ya doc." Bobby voiced as he scratched a hand through his rough beard. "How long will the treatment take?"

"Well, because of Sam's height and weight, it will most likely take three to four hours to complete the dialysis and he'll need to have it done at least three times a week." Michelle answered sympathetically knowing that most patients hated the amount of time required to do the procedure.

"Guess we better find you some books then to keep you occupied during the treatments Tiger." Bobby said as he reached over and clasped a hand upon Sam's knee. He didn't want Sam to suffer long boring hours with nothing to do but worry about what was happening to him.

"Yeah, that'll be good I guess." Sam responded with a tight smile. He'd be grateful for anything to keep his mind off what would be happening to him in the morning.

"So then, I guess we'll be seeing you tomorrow then." Dean stated as he rose to his feet and reached out to shake the doctor's hand.

"Yes, I'll see you then, and Sam, please remember to limit your fluid intake as much as possible tonight. It will make the process run more smoothly for you tomorrow." The doctor stated.

"Don't worry doc, I'll make sure he does." Bobby informed her before trailing _his_ boys out the door. He would do whatever was necessary to make sure Sam came through the treatment as easily and comfortable as possible.

**TBC _Not my best chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway._ **


	22. Chapter 22

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 22**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

**Previously: **_"Don't worry, I'll make sure he limits his fluid intake." Bobby informed the doctor before trailing his boys out the door. He would do whatever was necessary to make sure Sam came through the treatment as easily and comfortable as possible._

Early the next morning, the hunters woke up early to find the day was starting off to be rather gloomy. The rain was falling down in torrents and the distant sound of thunder signaled that a storm was well on it's way. Glancing out the window, Dean sighed as lightning flashed vividly across the sky. "Damn, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come." He thought as a small body shiver enveloped him. He hated feeling like the storm was a bad omen and thought about asking Sammy to put the dialysis off for another day. But then he knew he couldn't do that. The longer they waited, the worse things could become for Sammy. Pulling himself out of his melancholy thoughts, he tried to plaster a smile on his face as he heard Sam coming down the steps.

"Hey bro, you about ready to go for you first dialysis session?" Dean inquired as he gave his brother the once over to make sure he was doing alright.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just wish I could have a cup of coffee before we go." Sam replied as he pulled his jacket off of he metal hook that hung on Bobby's wall near the front door. "Bobby not going?" Sam asked after noticing that the elder hunter was nowhere in sight.

"You're kidding right? Of course Bobby is going. He went outside to pull the Impala a little closer to the porch so you don't get drenched in all this rain princess." Dean stated as he opened the door and walked outside followed by his brother. Walking down the steps, he winced as the lighting flashed bright in the distance and couldn't help but notice the way Sam jumped when the thunder boomed.

"S'okay Tiger I'm right here beside you." Dean soothed as he wrapped an arm around Sammy's shoulders and rushed him along. Throwing open the back door of the Impala, he waited for Sam to climb inside and then shut the door softly behind him before climbing into the shotgun position of the Impala. He wanted to be in a position where he could keep a close eye on Sammy.

"I don't believe it, you're actually letting Bobby drive?" Sam queried with surprise when Dean climbed into the passenger seat.

"And just what the hell is wrong with my driving kid?" Bobby piped up from the front as he gave Sam a questioning glance through the rearview mirror.

"Nothing Bobby, I didn't mean….It's just that Dean rarely ever lets anybody drive his baby." Sam stuttered out as he ran a hand through his hair, feeling just a little bit embarrassed. "M'sorry."

"Don't worry about it ya idjit, I was just picking on ya." Bobby voiced with a grin as he winked at Sam through the rearview mirror. He didn't want Sam too worry himself into a panic as they made the drive to the dialysis center.

"Jerk." Sam mumbled under his breath as he shook his head in exasperation.

"I heard that Tiger." Bobby informed the youngest Winchester as he kept a tight grip on the wheel and an eye on the road. He wasn't taking any chances of getting in a wreck with the nasty weather they were having.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Approximately forty minutes later, Bobby pulled the Impala up to the front door of the center and allowed his passengers to climb out before finding a place to park the sleek, black muscle car. Watching as the boys quickly walked inside, he drove the car over to the nearby parking area and pulled into the first available spot. Taking a deep breath, he whispered a small prayer that things would be fine before exiting the car and locking it up. He really did need to get back to the boy as quickly as possible.

Walking into the entrance as the sliding doors opened to allow his admittance, he scanned the area and found Dean and Sam sitting on the small sofa at the far end of the room. It was obvious to his trained eye that Sam was getting nervous by the way his knees bounced in anticipation of what was to come. Striding over to where the boys were, he clasped Sam on the shoulder and gave it a light squeeze before sitting in the chair in front of the boys. "Everything's going to be okay kiddo, just wait and see."

"Yeah, I know Bobby." Sam agreed with a tight smile, accepting Bobby's words of comfort. He just wished he could believe them considering Winchester luck. Hearing his name called, he sighed deeply and then pushed himself up. "Here goes nothing." He whispered before taking those first few steps forward to the change his life was about to take.

"Good Morning Sam." Nurse Julie said with a smile as she ushered Sam and his brother through the swinging doors. "If you will please follow me, we will get you set up in the dialysis room."

Upon arriving at the room where Sam would be receiving his treatments, the nurse had Sam remove his shirt and stand on the scales so she could weigh him. All patients requiring dialysis had their weight monitored before and after each treatment to ascertain how much waste had been removed from the blood during the procedure. Once she charted his weight, the nurse then had Sam sit in the recliner beside the dialyzer that had been set for his specific treatment requirements so she could check his vitals such as his pulse and blood pressure.

Charting the information, she said, "Okay Sam, now that we have that out of the way, I am going to give you a dose of heparin. It is an anticoagulant and will help the process proceed more smoothly. Pulling the syringe of the small tray beside Sam's recliner, she removed the sterile plastic wrapping and plunged it into the vial to remove the recommended dosage. Swabbing a small place on Sam's arm, she said, "You're just going to feel a small stick sweetie." Plunging the needle into Sam's arm, she smiled at the way the older brother immediately carded his fingers through her patient's hair when he winced. After the medication was injected, Julie said, "Sam, before I start the dialysis, I need to know how you are feeling and if you have any questions about what will happen during the process."

"I'm feeling a little nervous, but I guess that it is totally understandable since this is my first time." Sam answered as he chewed on his bottom lip. "As for questions, no I don't really have any other than how long I'll have to go through this first treatment?"

"Well, since this is your first treatment, your doctor wrote up an order for only two hours of dialysis using slow blood flow to prevent hypotension. That way we can gauge your tolerance of fluid removal, your arterial and venous pressure readings, and your tolerance of the dialyzer machine." Nurse Julie answered as she prepared to start the dialysis session.

"That won't be so bad will it Tiger?" Dean questioned with a smile as he swiped the sweaty bangs from Sam's eyes. "It will all be over before you know it."

"Yeah, I guess." Sam answered as he watched the nurse place the needles into the ends of the Cimino fistula that had been created in his arm for the dialysis.

"Okay Sam, all you need to do now is kick back and try to relax." Julie told him as she hooked him up to the heart monitor and then started the treatment, checking the machine to make sure it was functioning properly. Walking over to the small desk in the room to sit, she checked the information on her patient's chart once again. She would be staying in the room today to monitor Sam for any signs of nausea, shortness of breath, irritability, flushing, or signs of agitation which could all point to something going wrong with the procedure.

Noticing the way that Sam couldn't keep his eyes off of the way the blood was flowing through the tubing into the dialyzer, Dean said, "Hey Sammy, do you remember that time when we were younger and got caught in that snowstorm up in Montana? I'll never forget the look in Dad's eyes that morning when he opened the door to find almost three feet of fresh snow."

"Yeah, I remember. I couldn't believe it, Dad actually took us outside and helped us to build a snowman. Afterwards we even had a snowball fight. Poor Dad had the worst aim, never did hit me once."

"You do know that was on purpose don't ya kiddo? Dad wanted to make sure you didn't get too cold with that snow hitting you on the face or anything." Dean retorted with a fond smile.

"Yeah, I do now. But back then, I just thought somebody needed to teach Dad how to throw a snowball. I was only six years old then Dean."

"Yeah I know. It scared the shit out of me that we wouldn't be able to get out of there before Christmas Eve. I was so worried how you would react waking up to find out that Santa hadn't brought any presents. Little did I know that Dad had already bought a couple and had them stored in the trunk."

"Honestly, I was actually scared myself that Santa wouldn't find us that night. I remember crawling up on Dad's lap and asking him how Santa was going to be able to find us with us stuck out in the snow in the middle of nowhere, at least that was the way it seemed to me back then."

"Oh yeah, and what did Dad say?" Dean queried since he didn't remember that happening at all.

"He said that all Santa had to do was make a snowball, sort of like the ones we used for our snowball fight. He said that Santa could shine it up with his magic mittens until it was crystal clear. All he had to do then was to look in it and say my name since I was on the good list and the snowball would show him right where I was."

"Damn, didn't know Dad had it in him to make up a story like that." Dean mused. He thought he had been the only one to fill Sammy's little mind with made up stories to keep the kid happy and believing in Santa for as long as he could.

"I think that was one of the best Christmases we ever had." Sam said wistfully before closing his eyes. He was starting to feel a little lightheaded and had an uncomfortable sensation in his chest, sort of like his heart was fluttering.

"Sammy, are you okay?" Dean queried. He didn't like the way that Sammy had suddenly got quiet and noticed that he was beginning to pale.

"I don't know. I f-f-feel kind of funny." Sam whispered as his face flushed and his breathing became rapid. Within seconds, the heart monitor that he was attached to started blaring out a warning.

Racing over to the monitor, Julie quickly checked the readings. "Damn it, he's going into tachycardia." She gasped as she pushed the call button on the side of Sam's recliner. He patient needed help stat before he suffered a major heart attack.

**TBC**


	23. Chapter 23

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 23**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural

* * *

**Previously: **_Racing over to the monitor, Julie quickly checked the readings. "Damn it, he's going into tachycardia." She gasped as she pushed the call button on the side of Sam's recliner. Her patient needed help stat before he suffered a major heart attack._

"What the hell is going on?" Dean screeched in panic as he watched Sarah lower the back of the recliner/bed Sam was lying in so that he was now basically laying in a flat position.

"Your brother is suffering tachycardia which means his heart is beating much too fast. If we don't get it back to a normal rhythm soon, Sam could suffer a serious heart attack." Julie explained as she placed an oxygen mask over her patient's face.

"Julie, what have we got?" Dr. Carson Brady queried as he rushed into the room and immediately began assessing the patient on the bed while taking notice of the family member who had moved out of his way to allow him to perform his duty.

"The patient just started his first round of dialysis today. He has a heart rate of over 190 beats per minute doctor. " Julie answered professionally getting the needed information across as quickly as possible as she walked over to the medicinal cabinet knowing the doctor would be requesting an antiarrhythmic to slow the rate.

"We've got to get that rate back under 100, get me some diltiazem and atenolol stat." Carson stated as he grasped a sterile syringe and tore it from it's protective wrapping. Plunging the needle into the vial of diltiazem that Julie gave him and withdrawing the needed dose, he quickly injected it into the IV port in Sam's hand and then followed it up with the beta blocker of atenolol. Watching the heart monitor for just a moment, he cursed when there was no significant change, the rate dropping by only a few beats per minute.

"Son of a bitch, it's not working. We're going to have to do an electric cardioversion." Dr. Brady stated. Grasping the paddles from the portable defibrillator which was located near the recliner for emergencies like this, he applied the gel to the paddles as he waited for Julie to place the patches on Sam's bare chest. Once the nurse was finished, he placed the paddles down on to the patches and yelled "Clear" before depressing them.

Dean watched in horror as his brother's body arched up off the bed when the electrical current was delivered by the paddles. Too afraid to breathe, he held his breath as he waited to see if the cardio conversion worked.

Watching the readout on the monitor once again, Dr. Brady sighed audibly in relief as he watched the patient's heart rate return to a normal sinus rhythm. "Looks like we've got him back, the conversion worked." The doctor stated as he used the sleeve of his medical coat to wipe the sweat from his upper brow.

"Oh thank God." Dean voiced reverently as he swiped a shaky hand across his mouth as he leaned back against the wall for support since his knees felt weak.

Noticing how pale his patient's older brother looked, Dr. Brady did a quick visual assessment to check for signs of oncoming shock. Finding that the brother was relatively stable, he walked over and clasped Deans hand. "Sorry I couldn't talk with you earlier as I've just got back from out of town. but I am Dr. Carson Brady and I'll be in charge of Sam's case while he is here."

"Doc, what the hell just happened here?" Dean demanded wanting to know why his brother had suddenly been faced with a life threatening situation.

"Mr.….?"

"Dean, just call me Dean."

"Dean, I know you're worried, but this sometimes happens with first time patients of dialysis. Their systems are so shocked by the cleansing process, that their body overreacts, which is what happened in Sam's case. Please let me assure you that this will not happen with every session. His system will adapt to the treatments and Sam will go through them like they are a normal everyday occurrence." Dr. Carson stated hoping to ease Dean's mind.

"Yeah, you can say that now." Dean retorted, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I understand you're upset and honestly, I would be too after witnessing what happened, but please understand that Sam needs your support during these treatments. He will sense any misgivings you have and it could affect his overall health." Carson related knowing how important a positive approach was for the patient.

Any response Dean would have made was stopped by the sound of whimpering coming from his baby brother. "Sammy?" Dean questioned as he immediately refocused his attention on his younger sibling.

"De'n, wha' happened?" Sam queried weakly as he struggled to focus his eyes.

"You had a reaction to the dialysis kiddo, but everything's okay now, it won't happen again." Dean replied as he stroked his fingers through Sam's hair.

"Dean, M'tired. I wanna go back to Bobby's." Sam pleaded, his eyes moist with tears.

"We will Tiger, just as soon as it's safe for you to do so. Why don't you try to get some sleep. I'll stay right here." Dean coaxed as he rubbed circles on Sam's hand with his thumb. He kept up the soothing motion until his brother's eyes drooped and he faded off to sleep.

"He should sleep for a while now." Carson stated as he assessed Sam's vitals once again to make sure he was stable and then quietly left the room to check on other patients.

"You're really good with him ya know. Sam's lucky to have you as a brother." Julie stated with a smile as she watched how easily Sam was calmed just by the comforting touch of his brother.

"You've got that backwards. I'm the one who's lucky to have him." Dean retorted with a smile of his own. "Sammy has gotten me through some pretty rough times and he's always there for me. I couldn't live without him." Settling back in his chair, Dean kept a close watch on the monitors connected to Sammy. He would make sure they knew right away if there was the slightest of changes where his baby brother was concerned.

* * *

As Bobby sat in the family room of the dialysis center waiting for _his_ boys, he wondered why the dialysis session was taking longer than they had been told it would take. Sam was supposed to have been finished with his session in just over two hours, but that deadline had long since passed since it was now a little over four hours later. Feeling uneasy, he stood up and approached the nurse's desk. "Excuse me, but could you find out what is taking so long with my nephew's dialysis session? He was supposed to be finished a couple of hours ago."

"Yes Sir, if you'd give me just a few minutes, I would be happy to see what I can find out for you." The nurse said. "I just need to finish putting this information into the computer and then I'll go…"

"Never mind, here he comes now." Bobby stated cutting the nurse off as he saw the boys coming down the hallway.

"Dean?" Bobby queried anxiously as he looked at Sam who was sitting in a wheelchair and being pushed by a nurse.

"Thing got a little tense back there for a while. Sam had an attack of tachycardia and they had to shock him back into a normal heart rhythm." Dean replied in answer to the unasked question.

"Then why the hell isn't he being admitted?" Bobby asked incredulously.

"The doc said the chances of it happening again are minimal. He said the tachycardia was just Sam's body reacting to the dialysis treatment. But just in case, the gave him a specialized ring to wear to monitor his heart rate. It will monitor his heart rate continuously for the next ten hours and then I'll have to change the battery in the ring." Dean replied.

"But, wouldn't it be more safe if he was monitored here in the hospital, at least for the next twenty four hours?"

"That's exactly what I said, but Mister Stubborn here." Dean said with a motion of his head towards Sam, "Refused to be admitted, said he's damn sick and tired of being in hospitals."

"Guess I can't blame him for that." Bobby said as he lightly ruffled Sam's hair before kneeling down in front of him and looking him in the eye. "But you better be ready to have two overprotective mother hens hovering over you big time when we get ya home Tiger."

"Jeez, just what I need." Sam said with a roll of his eyes even though there was a smile on his face. He knew he would feel smothered by attention, but he also knew it would be done out of love for him.

"Okay kiddo, let's get you out of here." Dean said as he helped Sam up out of the wheelchair with a little help from Bobby. Wrapping an arm around Sam's waist, he watched Bobby flank his brother from the other side and they then slowly led him out of the hospital.

Once they made it to the Impala, Dean helped Sam into the back seat and then crawled in beside him allowing Bobby to drive. Once they were on the road, he tugged Sam over to lean against him so that his brother could rest better on the way home. It didn't take long for him to hear the soft snores being emitted by his brother. Glancing down at the ring on his brother's finger, he was happy to see a normal heart rate of about approximately 90 beats per minute.

"How's he doing?" Bobby asked as he glanced into the rearview mirror at the two Winchesters sitting in the backseat with the affection of a father.

"He's okay, just exhausted is all." Dean whispered with a smile to the hunter. "He'll be okay after he gets some sleep."

"Looks to me like both of you boys could use some sleep. Once we get back to the salvage yard, I want both of you boys to lay down for a nap while I get dinner ready." Bobby said as he noticed the dark circles under Dean's eyes. Noticing that Dean was about to argue, he said, "And don't give me no backtalk about either ya idjit, you need some rest too."

Dean was about to reply with a smart aleck retort about being treated like a child, but though better of it. Yeah, if he were honest, he really could use some sleep himself. "Yes Sir, whatever you say." Dean replied as he slouched down in the seat and closed his eyes, content in the knowledge that Sam was safe beside him and that Bobby was talking over for a while allowing him to stand down.

**TBC **


	24. Chapter 24

**Fighting to Breathe Ch. 24**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural

* * *

**Previously: **_"Yes Sir, whatever you say." Dean replied as he slouched down in the seat and closed his eyes, content in the knowledge that Sam was safe beside him and that Bobby was taking over for a while allowing him to stand down._

Later that night as they lay in bed, Dean couldn't keep his eyes off his baby brother. Sam was resting peacefully for once, but he just couldn't get the picture of Sam arresting out of his mind. It had scared him to his very core to see Sam laying on that reclining hospital chair and not breathing. Every time he closed his eyes, he could vividly see the doctor placing the defibrillator paddles on his brother's chest and depressing them causing Sam's body to arch up off the bed from the electrical current racing through it. Looking towards Sam's hand which had slipped out from under the cover, he was happy to see the cardiac ring firmly secured on his finger. The silence of that ring meant that Sam was breathing normally and that his oxygen levels were fine. He didn't know if he could handle it giving off a warning tone, not after what he had witnessed earlier in the day.

Sighing deeply, he knew he needed to get some sleep. He had promised to help Bobby with one of the old clunkers he was working on, but his mind refused to shut down and allow sleep to overtake him. He was too worried about what the following dialysis treatments might bring, even though Dr. Brady had assured him that the treatments should run more smoothly. The doctor just didn't know about Winchester luck and how things always seemed to go against them. If anything more could go wrong, it would.

Watching as his brother shifted about on the bed, he tensed wondering if something was about to happen. He hoped not since Sam was exhausted and needed his rest. Observing Sam's face more closely, he clearly noticed that his younger sibling was becoming restless with agitation so he climbed out of his bed and walked over to kneel beside Sam's bed. Carding his fingers through Sam's chocolaty locks, he whispered, "Shh Tiger, everything's okay, I've got ya." He smiled as Sam's head automatically leaned his way and he relaxed into a peaceful sleep once again. Gently brushing the bangs away from his sleeping brother's eyes, he shivered at the thought of what life would have been like had he lost him. He knew without a doubt that he wouldn't be able to live without him, nor would he want too since Sam had been his main focus throughout his life. "You've got to beat this Sammy. I can't fight this war without you by my side." He pleaded with a whisper.

Feeling a deep seated need to be near his brother should any problems arrive, Dean stood up long enough to grasp the blankets and pillows off of his own bed. Spreading them out on the floor beside Sam's bed, he glanced at his brother once more to make sure he was still slumbering peacefully before laying down and closing his eyes.

* * *

Sam awoke early the next morning feeling better than he had felt in a long time. Throwing the blankets off of his long legs, he started to climb out of the bed when he realized that Dean was sleeping on the floor beside it. Rolling his eyes just a little, he couldn't help but smile at his brother's over protectiveness. Dean was always willing to give up his own comfort when it came to him, but refused to allow Sammy to do the same when Dean was the one who was sick. Trying not to wake his brother, he slowly stood up and eased himself around Dean's languid form. He had just eased open the door when he heard a low voice call out to him.

"Where do you think you're going by yourself?" Dean questioned as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His back ached a little from sleeping on the hard floor, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with.

"Sorry Dean, I didn't mean to wake you." Sam stated apologetically as he turned to look at his brother. "I was just going downstairs to see about making some breakfast since I'm kinda hungry."

"Sammy, maybe you should just spend the day in bed. Give me a minute and I'll bring you something up." Dean retorted as he pushed himself to his feet.

"I'm not an invalid Dean. As a matter of fact, I feel better today than I have in a long time." Sam informed his brother with a genuine smile. "You don't have to worry about me so much big brother."

"Like that's ever going to happen kiddo. I don't care if you turn eighty and have a dozen grandchildren running around the house and catering to your every need, I'm still gonna worry about you whether you like it or not. It's my job." Dean said as he walked past Sam and out the door.

"Jerk." Sam mumbled fondly under his breath as he followed his brother out of the room.

"I heard that bitch." Dean smirked as he stood at the top of the stairs and waited for Sam. He was going to be right beside his brother should Sam slip and start to fall. Walking down the stairs, the brothers were surprised to smell bacon and eggs already frying in the pan since it was still quite early, the sun having barely risen.

"Morning Bobby, hope your making enough for an army, I'm starving." Sam said upon seeing the hunter as he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a container of orange juice.

Turning to fact the youngest Winchester, Bobby immediately noticed that his coloring looked better and he wasn't quite as pale as he had been in previous days. "Well it's about damned time you started feeling better Tiger." He mused as he removed the finished bacon from the skillet and placed it on the table along with the eggs.

'Well whatcha idjits waiting for? Sit your asses down and start eating. I didn't cook all this food just to toss it out to Rumsfeld ya know. And before you say anything Sam, the scrambled eggs are fine for you and I made low fat bacon…just limit yourself to one piece." Bobby grumbled as he grabbed the toast from the toaster and placed it on the table also.

It didn't take long for the hunters to finish the meal with Bobby and Dean both noticing that Sam ate everything he placed on his plate. They couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief knowing their youngest was finally getting his appetite back. It was the first sign that just maybe, Sam was finally winning the battle.

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon passed with Bobby and Dean working on an old clunker of an automobile that the owner just couldn't seem to part with while Sam spent the time reading on the porch or translating some of the Latin texts that Bobby hadn't gotten around to translating yet.

As they worked, Dean couldn't help but take furtive glances towards the porch every so often to make sure his baby brother was fine. It felt good to see Sammy finally doing something other than laying around and struggling to do the simplest of tasks. So caught up in his musings, Dean didn't hear Bobby ask for the socket wrench by his side.

"Dean, whatcha doing boy? I asked you to pass me the socket wrench." Bobby groused as he pulled himself out from under the car to see what had Dean so preoccupied.

"Sorry Bobby, I didn't hear you." Dean apologized, his cheeks taking on a light pink color from embarrassment at having been caught daydreaming.

"S'okay Ace, it sure feels good to see him doing so much better doesn't it?" Bobby stated as he took the time to watch Sam a few moments himself after noticing that Dean had his eye's glue towards the porch.

"God, Bobby, you have no idea." Dean replied as he leaned back against the old 1966 Dodge Charger that had seen better days. "I really thought there for a while that I was going to lose him."

"You weren't alone there Dean, he scared the hell out of me a time or two also." Bobby replied as he nudged Dean with his shoulder. "But he's doing better now. And hopefully the rest of his treatments will go the way they're supposed to and Sam will be fully healed once again before ya know it."

"I sure hope you're right Bobby, I've had more than enough angst to last me a lifetime where Sammy's concerned." Dean stated as he crossed his arms in front of him. "I'm not sure I could go through another crisis like that in the near future."

"You won't have to son, he's getting better." Bobby replied as he placed a comforting hand on Dean' shoulder. "Now what do you say we get back to work on this car before Old Man Greeley comes to pick it up."

"Yeah okay." Dean agreed as he turned around and began to service the engine once again while Bobby went back to working on whatever it was he was doing under the car. The sooner they got the car finished, the more time they could spend with Sammy.

* * *

Once they had finished working on the car, Bobby asked Sam to make them all a few sandwiches while he and Dean went up stairs to clean up. He wanted to do something relaxing and fun for a change and he knew just the perfect thing. Returning downstairs, he smiled as he saw Sam setting the table.

"No need to do that Sam, we're eating outside today." He said as he grasped some sandwich bags from the cupboard and began stuffing them inside the small plastic bags.

"What do you mean, where are we gong?" Sam questioned with a perplexed look on his face.

"We're going fishing down at the pond just as soon as that brother of yours quits primping and gets his behind down here." Bobby answered, quite pleased to see the astonished look on Sam's face. "Now how about you go grab a couple of fishing poles out of the closet while I get some drinks and put them in a small cooler."

Rushing to do as he was told, the dimples stood out on Sam's face as he smiled broadly at the thought of spending the rest of the afternoon fishing. They hadn't done anything just for fun in such a long time that he almost forgot what it felt like.

Thirty minutes later found the hunters all resting on their behinds as they waited for the fish to take the bait attached to the hook at the end of their lines, each feeling more carefree than they had in years. And for the first time since Sam had been hurt, they thought about something other than how badly he had been hurt and the dialysis sessions ahead.

**TBC **_**Only one more chapter to go.**_


	25. Chapter 25

**Fighting to Breathe **Ch. 25

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the delay in posting. This time of year is a busy one for me with having such a big family.

* * *

**Previously: **_Thirty minutes later found the hunters all resting on their behinds as they waited for the fish to take the bait attached to the hook at the end of their lines, each feeling more carefree than they had in years. And for the first time since Sam had been hurt, they thought about something other than how badly he had been hurt and the dialysis sessions ahead._

Looking back on their time at the lake as he waited for Sam's latest dialysis session to complete, Bobby realized it had been truly a turning point for the youngest Winchester. Sam had gained a brighter outlook on things and for the first time in a while, he really believed he could beat the kidney problem and become completely healthy once again. Even though his first session had been near disastrous, Sam had faith that things would go much better for him and that faith had been rewarded many times over during the past few weeks as his health continued to improve with each consecutive dialysis session. So here he was now, waiting for Sam to come back from the tests he was undergoing to find out if he could stop taking the dialysis treatments.

Glancing at his watch, his knee bounced up and down with nervousness at the boys having been gone for over forty five minutes now. He knew the doctor had said it would take some time to run the tests, but jeez, Dean could have least kept him updated throughout the process. He had no idea how long it would take to test for the creatinin levels or the other things the doc had mentioned, but surely they would have known something by now. Blowing out an exaggerated breath, he stood up and walked over to the nurse's desk.

"Excuse me, but can you find out for me how things are going with my nephew Sam. He's been undergoing those tests for quite a while now and I'm getting kind of anxious here." Bobby pleaded.

"Mr. Singer, I'm sure the doctor will let you know as soon as he has the results. I know it seems like it's been a long wait, but these tests take time." The nurse cajoled hoping to relieve the man's anxiety. She knew how close he was to his nephews since he had been here for ever single treatment Sam had undergone.

Sighing, Bobby walked away dejectedly and sat down in his chair. Taking off his trucker's cap, he tugged his fingers through his hair in agitation. _"These tests take time." _He snidely repeated before taking his hat off and flinging it across the room towards the doors where Sam had been taken through, Dean choosing to walk through the doors at that very moment.

"Whoa, what did I do?" Dean asked as he reached down to pick up the trucker's cap tp return to the gruff hunter.

"Sorry Dean, I was just…well, it's your own damn fault ya idjit for not coming out here sooner to talk to me. Don't you know I've been worried as hell out here boy, waiting to find out some information?"

"Damn Bobby, I'm sorry, I didn't think." Dean apologized contritely as he gave Bobby back his cap. "I would have came out sooner, but Sammy was refusing the catheter test to check for sugar levels in his urine. It took some talking to get him to agree to the phloridizin test and have the catheter inserted."

"Can't say I blame the kid." Bobby retorted as he unconsciously squeezed his legs together at the thought of having a catheter up his joystick.

"Yeah, well, they're doing the test now. They'll be checking his urine every fifteen minutes for sugar levels. His doctor says it's one of the best tests for determining just how healthy Sam's kidneys are now." Dean informed Bobby as he took a seat by the man to wait. Sam wouldn't allow him to be in the room while the tests were being done.

"Great, so now we both get to play the waiting game." Bobby grumbled as he slumped down in the chair at the thought of having to go through another long wait.

* * *

Three hours and four cups of coffee later, Dean and Bobby were both relieved to see Sam's doctor finally walking towards them. Pushing quickly too their feet, the hunters walked across the room and met the doctor half way.

"So how is my brother doc?" Dean questioned as he nervously tapped his fingers on his muscular thigh while waiting for an answer.

"I'm happy to report your brother is doing just fine Dean. I've just gotten all his test results back and Sam's kidneys are functioning normally once again. He will no longer have to take the dialysis sessions, though I am recommending that he take some beta blockers and ACE inhibitors to help him maintain good renal function, at least for now."

"That's fantastic news doc, when can he go home?" Dean asked with a broad smile on his face.

"Well, he's getting dressed now. I just have to write his prescriptions and get his released papers signed, then he can be on his way." The doctor answered.

"Thanks Doc. We can never repay you for what you've done for Sam." Bobby stated as he reached out to take the man's hand and gave it a firm shake.

"You're welcome, but I was just doing my job. Sam walking out of here in relatively good health is all the payment I need." Dr. Carson Brady said as he walked over to the nurses desk to get the release papers. His patient was ready to go home.

"Uh, hey doc, can we go in there and sit with Sammy until he's released?" Dean questioned with a need to get back to his baby brother.

"Sure, he's in treatment room five." The doctor answered as he filled out the release papers with the required information the family would need to take care of Sam over the next few days. He couldn't help but smile at how quickly the two men shot off through the door upon getting his consent. Sam was obviously a very important part of their world.

Pushing through the treatment doors, Dean and Bobby walked down the small hallway, their noses scrunching up at the antiseptic smell. Striding into treatment room five, the walked in just in time to see Sam pulling on his shoes.

"Hey kiddo, the doc says your ready to make your grand escape from this fine institution." Dean voiced with a huge smile as he reached out his hand and ruffled Sam's chocolaty brown locks.

"Yeah, can't say I'll miss this place though." Sam voiced a little shakily as tears misted his eyes. He couldn't believe that he was finally putting the place and kidney failure behind him.

"I know what you mean Tiger. If I never see this place again, it will be too soon for me." Dean replied, his voice cracking a little also. He had watched Sam go through the fight of his life and it had scared him more than a couple of times to think Sammy might not have come out on top when his situation had been dire.

"Well if you two are finished running your mouths, we can finally get the kid out of here." Bobby said as he leaned against the door watching the two Winchesters with fatherly concern. God how he loved those boys, even if he never said it.

* * *

A few hours later found the hunters preparing a celebratory dinner at Singer Salvage. As Dean worked on grilling the steaks, Bobby put some potatoes on to bake and then went to work on making a salad. They had all been eating bland meals for so long that they couldn't wait to sink their teeth into a man's meal, at least that was the way that Dean had referred to it. Of course he couldn't help but pick at Sam for wanting the salad, saying how girly it was of him to need the rabbit food to complete the meal. He had paid for the comment however when Bobby swatted him hard on the behind for it, telling him to leave his brother alone.

Standing there at the grill, Dean relished in the laughter he heard coming from Bobby's house. Sam had gotten a big kick out of seeing him rub his behind after being chastised by Bobby. Damn, but that man had a hard hand. But the embarrassment of having been _spanked_ was well worth the price with the reaction Sammy was now having. Turning the steaks over so that the other side could cook, Dean felt a little wistful wishing his dad had been here to share in such a happy time.

"Hey bro, is something wrong? You look like you've got something on your mind." Sam inquired as he walked over and placed the A1 steak sauce on the side of the grill. He knew how much Dean liked the sauce grilled into his steak.

"Nah, I was just remembering a promise I made to you when you were in that other hospital and fighting for your life." Dean said not wanting to bring up their dad knowing how his death still affected Sammy.

What promise? I don't remember you making any promise." Sam retorted as he searched his memory.

"That's because you were still unconscious." Dean explained as he poured the sauce over the steak. "What do you think about taking a vacation to the Grand Canyon Sammy?"

"What?" Sam asked incredulously as his mouth gaped open in surprise. "Dean, we've never taken a vacation from hunting. You know that."

"That's the point Sammy. Hunting has been our whole lives lately. I just think it's time we took a small break and did something we've wanted to do for years now.

"Dean, I, I don't know what to say." Sam admitted, the whole idea having taken him by complete surprise.

"Say that you wanna go bitch." Dean replied with a smirk as he looked at his baby brother. It wasn't often he caught Sam by surprise and he was relishing in the moment.

"Of course I want to go jerk." Sam replied, his eyes twinkling with merriment at the idea. He'd always dreamed of going to the Grand Canyon since they drove past the billboard advertising it years ago when their dad had taken them out west on a hunt.

"Fantastic. We'll spend another week or so here at Bobby's to make sure you're fully rested and then we'll hit the road. I don't want to take any chances with you not being back to full health."

"Hey, maybe we should ask Bobby if he wants to go." Sam said as he held out the platter for Dean to put the steaks on now that they had finished cooking on the grill.

"Sounds good, he's been there for us a lot over the past month. And besides, the old coot needs to do something fun once in a while too." Dean agreed as he and Sam walked back towards the house. Dean didn't know how he would have ever gotten through the past month by himself without Bobby's shoulder to lean on. The man had become more than just a friend, he was now a father figure to them. Entering the house and sitting down to dinner, the hunters talked excitedly about their upcoming vacation, content in the fact that Bobby had agreed to join them.

**THE END**_**. **__I hope the end of the story met up with your expectations. And I want to thank each and every one who has read, reviewed, or saved this story to their favorites. It means more than you know to hear your thoughts on the story. It's what keeps me writing._


End file.
